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The Oakland A’s recalled Mark Canha from Triple-A Nashville on Friday, the team announced. The OF/1B will take the spot vacated by the trade of Rajai Davis on Wednesday. Oakland also placed starting pitcher Paul Blackburn on the 10-day disabled list and replaced him with long reliever Michael Brady.
Canha has played 34 games for the A’s this year, spread over multiple stints with the club. The 28-year-old hasn’t managed to force his way into a regular MLB job, but he’s had a few big moments and he’s done just enough to stay on the crowded depth chart of corner sluggers for now. (For numbers below: 112 PAs in MLB, and 317 PAs in AAA)
Canha, MLB: .210/.259/.410, 77 wRC+, 4 HR, 4.5% BB, 31.3% Ks
Canha, AAA: .283/.373/.529, 130 wRC+, 12 HR, 10.7% BB, 19.6% Ks
With rosters expanding in less than a week, the most likely result here is that Canha spends the rest of the season in Oakland. There will surely be a lot of competition for the 2018 roster next spring, and this could be one more chance for the righty to show he can be more than a Quad-A backup.
As for the pitching staff, Blackburn exited his last start on Tuesday after being hit by a line drive. He was diagnosed with a right hand contusion. He’ll presumably be replaced in the rotation by swingman Chris Smith, with Brady settling back into the long man role in the bullpen.
The new roster, heading into the weekend against Texas:
| Pitchers | Hitters |
|
Starters Sean Manaea (L) Kendall Graveman (R) Jharel Cotton (R) Daniel Gossett (R) Chris Smith (R) Relievers Blake Treinen (R) Santiago Casilla (R) Liam Hendriks (R) Ryan Dull (R) Daniel Coulombe (L) Simon Castro (R) Chris Hatcher (R) Michael Brady (R) |
Catchers Bruce Maxwell (L) Dustin Garneau (R) Infielders Matt Olson (L) Ryon Healy (R) Jed Lowrie (S) Marcus Semien (R) Matt Chapman (R) Outfielders Khris Davis (R) Matt Joyce (L) Boog Powell (L) Chad Pinder (R) Mark Canha (R) |
10-day DL: RHP Paul Blackburn, C Josh Phegley
60-day DL: RHP Andrew Triggs, RHP Bobby Wahl, OF Dustin Fowler, OF Jake Smolinski
Looking at the 60-day disabled list, the first three have been deemed out for the season but Smolinski is currently on a rehab assignment in Triple-A. If he returns in September then he could compete with Canha for at-bats since they share similar roles. (Phegley is also on rehab in Nashville.)
