The Oakland A’s currently have 14 players on the disabled list, eight of whom are pitchers. Most of those guys are out for the rest of the season at this point, but a few big names still have chances (some better than others) to make it back onto the field in 2016. Here are some quick updates from the week.
Sean Doolittle
Doo last pitched on June 25. He went on the DL on June 30 with a shoulder strain, and at the time he noted a high workload as one negative factor. He’s had over a month off now, and it seems that rest has indeed done the trick.
On Saturday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reported that Doo would go on a three-game rehab stint this week, with an eye toward returning for the next homestand (which begins Aug. 22 vs. Cle).
Doo did indeed make his first rehab outing on Monday, tossing a scoreless inning for Triple-A Nashville on just nine total pitches (strikeout, double, groundout, groundout). He’ll pitch again on Thursday, according to Jane Lee of MLB.com.
Hopefully we’ll have our Doo back by next week! On the bright side, at least he’s keeping busy in the meantime with this ESPN story about his favorite bullpens.
Jesse Hahn
Hahn last pitched on Aug. 4, then went on the DL the next day with shoulder fatigue. The word at the time was that he should only miss the minimum 15 days, and that appears to be more or less what is happening. He threw a 30-pitch bullpen session on Sunday (via John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group), and now he’s scheduled to start tonight (Tue.) for Triple-A Nashville.
Hahn pitching Tuesday for Nashville. He mentioned joining team in Chicago next weekend. ... If Tues goes well, perhaps Sunday start vs Sox?
— Joe Stiglich (@JoeStiglichCSN) August 14, 2016
Slusser also mentions that Sunday game against the White Sox as a possibility for Hahn’s return, or else sometime during the subsequent Mon-to-Wed home series against the Indians.
Sonny Gray
Just one quick tweet for Sonny, courtesy of Lee:
Sonny Gray is still shut down from throwing. No telling if he'll be able to pitch again this season.
— Jane Lee (@JaneMLB) August 14, 2016
Let’s not dwell on that topic any further.
Henderson Alvarez
We’re still yet to see Alvarez pitch for the A’s after a series of setbacks in his recovery from shoulder surgery, but the book isn’t closed on his season just yet. Hickey reported on Inside The A’s last weekend that the right-hander is throwing once again and is looking forward to a bullpen session in the near future.
Slusser followed up Tuesday with news that Alvarez pitched off flat ground Monday and that his next step is to pitch off a mound.
As for what role Alvarez might find himself in, well, he’s open to anything.
Henderson Alvarez says he's "very optimistic" about pitching w/#Athletics this year. If that means pitching relief "I just want to pitch."
— John Hickey (@JHickey3) August 13, 2016
The 26-year-old was an NL All-Star in 2014, but made only four starts last year for the Marlins before succumbing to injury.
Josh Phegley
In her roundup on Saturday, Slusser also mentioned catcher Josh Phegley, who is out after knee surgery. We could see him again in September.
Jed Lowrie
We already know that Lowrie is out for the year (with top prospect Chad Pinder en route to replace him!). Here are some more specifics on the nature of his injury:
As it turns out, Jed Lowrie isn't just having surgery to remove bunion, he also requires ligament repair in left foot. Lots going on there.
— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) August 16, 2016
Lowrie offers this quote, via Joe Stiglich of CSN:
“I began feeling symptoms about a month ago,” Lowrie said. “I took a swing and felt a pop. I’ve just been trying to manage it ever since then. I was hoping symptoms would get better but they just haven’t.”
If you’re wondering how that self-report might line up with his stats, well, the answer is “perfectly”:
Lowrie, Apr: .718 OPS
Lowrie, May: .698
Lowrie, Jun: .703
Lowrie, Jul: .482
His strikeout rate also more or less doubled in July.