Oakland A’s activate Trevor Cahill, option Jake Smolinski to Triple-A

The Oakland A’s activated pitcher Trevor Cahill from the disabled list on Wednesday, the team announced. The right-hander will start tonight’s game against the Red Sox. To make room on the roster, outfielder Jake Smolinski was optioned to Triple-A Nashville.

Cahill threw a gem in his last outing on May 5, striking out a career-high 12 batters in six scoreless innings, but afterward he went on the 10-day DL with an elbow impingement. Now he’s back after missing just one start, with Kendall Graveman briefly returning from the minors to cover for him last week.

Cahill, 2018: 2.25 ERA, 24 ip, 31 Ks, 6 BB, 2 HR, 2.40 FIP

It’s only been four starts, but so far Cahill has been a crucial addition to the A’s thin starting rotation. His best performances came against bottom-feeders in the Orioles and White Sox, but he was quality against the Astros too and he’s yet to put up a truly bad game.

Meanwhile, Smolinski heads back to the minors after a disappointing start to the season. The right-hander made a ton of sense on the Opening Day roster, as an outfielder who could platoon against southpaws and play some CF, but his bat never got going and he quickly lost his playing time to the resurgent Mark Canha.

Smolinski, 2018: .118/.167/.206, -2 wRC+, 0 HR, 2.8% BB, 25.0% Ks

Note: 4-for-34 overall, with one walk

He’d only made it into three games in May, and in the last three weeks he’d seen 10 total plate appearances. Now that top prospect Dustin Fowler has arrived on the scene and Canha has established himself as an everyday option, there’s no longer room for Smolinski and he heads back to the minors to be stashed as veteran depth.

Here’s the updated 25-man roster:

10-day DL: RHP Liam Hendriks (groin), LHP Ryan Buchter (shoulder), OF Boog Powell (knee)

60-day DL: RHP Jharel Cotton (TJS), RHP Paul Blackburn (forearm strain)