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Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Rich Hill will not make Friday’s start against the Toronto Blue Jays (via Susan Slusser, San Francisco Chronicle) due to a blister. Daniel Mengden will start Friday, followed by Sonny Gray on Saturday. Hill could return on Sunday, but that has not been announced yet.
The obvious trade conspiracy theories have been bandied about on Twitter, but believe it or not pitchers get blisters without regard to their likelihood of being traded.
Told #Athletics’ Hill has legitimate blister. Could have taken scheduled turn tomorrow, but team decided to give him a couple of extra days.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 14, 2016
While it is possible that had Hill not been the subject of trade rumors, he might have pitched through it, it’s understandable that the A’s wouldn’t want to risk a longer-term problem that could affect what players the club could get in return. Less than three weeks to go!
