Oakland A’s link roundup: Marcus Semien eyes June return

The Oakland A’s are off on Monday as they gear up for their first interleague action of the season against the Marlins on Tuesday. In the meantime, here are some links to catch you up on the news from the last few days!

Injury news

• SS Marcus Semien had the cast removed from his injured wrist last week, reports insider Jane Lee. He’s making progress in his recovery from a fractured scaphoid bone, and hopes to be back in action in June. He doesn’t become eligible to return from the 60-day disabled list until June 14.
• Continuing with injury news, RHP Ryan Dull went on the DL with a knee strain. However, an MRI showed no structural damage and it’s not currently expected to be a serious issue, says Susan Slusser of the S.F. Chronicle.
• LHP Sean Doolittle threw off a mound on Sunday for the first time since going on the DL at the end of April, reports Joe Stiglich of NBCS. His recovery from a shoulder injury is going better than expected, says Slusser.
• 1B Yonder Alonso was available to play on Sunday after sitting out a couple days with some knee soreness. He didn’t end up getting in the game, but Stiglich notes the likelihood that Alonso will be ready to go on Tuesday.
• RHP John Axford returned from the DL and made his first appearance of the season, against the Red Sox on Sunday. He threw one inning and allowed one run on one hit, though as usual the defense shared some of the blame. Jackie Bradley’s groundball single turned into a hustle-double thanks to lackadaisical outfield play, and he then scored on a pair of productive outs. On a normal team, Axford would have had a scoreless inning.
• The A’s are hoping to extend the rehab outing of RHP Chris Bassitt, according to Stiglich. (Not yet granted.) Bassitt’s last rehab start in Triple-A Nashville went poorly, with a line of 4⅔ ip, 7 runs, 1 K, 2 BB, 2 HR.
• Expanding out to the AL West, Astros ace LHP Dallas Keuchel will miss a start with a pinched nerve in his neck.

Other news

• The A’s took 3-of-4 from the Red Sox over the weekend. Check out our game recaps:
• Thursday (Sonny wins, 8-3 victory)
• Friday (Mark Canha walk-off homer, 3-2 victory)
• Saturday (A’s hit 4 homers, 8-3 victory)
• Sunday (A’s defense falls apart, 12-3 loss).
• Top-rated teenage Cuban OF prospect Luis Robert, whom the A’s were in the running to land, ended up signing with the White Sox.

Dingers

• The A’s lead the American League with 64 home runs.
• Chad Pinder hit the longest home run in MLB this season at 483 feet, according to ESPN’s HitTracker.

And finally, a reminder that we have Dallas Braden back, right here in the Bay Area where he belongs.