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Oakland A's place Mark Canha & Liam Hendriks on DL, call up Tyler Ladendorf, Andrew Triggs, & Daniel Coulombe

Reliever J.B. Wendelken was also optioned to Triple-A Nashville.

Mark Canha was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a back strain.
Mark Canha was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a back strain.
Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports

The Oakland A's made several moves ahead of Tuesday's contest against the Boston Red Sox. The A's placed Mark Canha on the disabled list with a back strain, Liam Hendriks on the disabled list with a right triceps strain, and optioned J.B. Wendelken to the Nashville Sounds. In their places are utility player Tyler Ladendorf, right-handed reliever Andrew Triggs, and left-handed reliever Daniel Coulombe. To add Coulombe to the 40-man roster, Chris Bassitt was transferred to the 60-day disabled list.

Three players out

Mark Canha last played on Sunday, but was held out of Monday's game against Clay Buchholz despite a 3-for-3 career mark against the starter. Oakland's other options and a lack of games against left-handed starters have left Canha with just nine starts out of the club's 33 games. He was 5-for-41 with three home runs and 20 strikeouts in 16 games. He will be eligible to return May 24.

Liam Hendriks last played in the first game of the May 7 doubleheader. It's been an incredibly strange run for Hendriks, who has recorded 19 strikeouts against one walk and two home runs in 16 1/3 innings for a 2.70 FIP, but has an 8.27 ERA due to a .491 batting average on balls in play. He will be eligible to return on May 23.

J.B. Wendelken made two appearances for the A's over the last two days in his major league debut, soaking up innings in the club's two blowout losses. On Sunday, he conceded a grand slam to Manny Machado and recorded four outs. On Monday, he allowed one run and completed the seventh inning. He returns to the Nashville Sounds, where he had a 20-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio and 3.27 ERA with just one home run allowed in 11 innings.

Three players in

Replacing Canha, Hendriks, and Wendelken are Tyler Ladendorf, Andrew Triggs, and Daniel Coulombe.

Ladendorf returns to take the role of "little-used utility player" I assume, as that is how he was used last time. Ladendorf appeared in six games, but mainly as a pinch runner or defensive substitute. He had just one start, bizarrely against a right-handed pitcher despite a chance to insert him into the lineup against J.A. Happ on the day of Ladendorf's first call up, and went 0-for-2 against Drew Hutchison. Ladendorf is hitting .239/.261/.328 with Nashville, and was 4-for-17 with three strikeouts in his last four games with the Sounds.

Andrew Triggs comes back for what is his fourth visit on the Nashville-Oakland shuttle. He has made two appearances and retired all six major league batters he has faced, four via strikeout. Triggs owns one of the most extreme third-base side release points in the majors.

Left-hander Daniel Coulombe owns the best strikeout-to-walk ratio on the Nashville pitching staff with 14 strikeouts to two walks. He has allowed just six hits and one earned run in 14 innings. The A's claimed Coulombe from the Los Angeles Dodgers last year, and he made nine appearances for the A's in 2015.

Others roughed up

The A's also have to worry about Danny Valencia, Jed Lowrie, and John Axford. Valencia is day-to-day with hamstring tightness after recently coming back from straining the same hamstring. Lowrie fouled a ball off his foot and left on crutches for x-rays that came back negative. Axford took a liner off his foot and stayed in the game after a trainer checked on him.

The A's lineup will start Yonder Alonso at third base, where he had two starts for San Diego last year, and Billy Butler at first base.

I mean, they have Max Muncy, on the 40-man roster, hitting the tar out of the ball in Nashville. But no, the A's really need a designated runner while playing with a short bench. That seems useful.

This is a breaking news story. Check back for further details.