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The Oakland A’s lineup busted a brief slump in their victory Wednesday afternoon, and now they have a trusty veteran bat back in action.
The A’s activated DH Mitch Moreland from the 10-day injured list on Thursday, the team announced. He was out with an inflamed costochondral junction of his left rib, retroactive to May 15, so he only went a couple days over a minimum stint on the IL.
To make room on the active roster, outfielder Luis Barrera was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas. The top prospect was brought up to fill Moreland’s spot while the latter was hurt, and during his cup of coffee in the majors the 25-year-old Barrera made his MLB debut, made his first start (in LF), and collected his first career hit. The lefty didn’t get a lot of playing time during his brief stint, but he’s a good bet to show up in Oakland again sometime this summer.
While Moreland’s overall stat line doesn’t jump off the page, rating around league-average and with a poor xwOBA, he’s already made a serious impact on the team’s fortunes. He delivered two walk-off hits within the first 16 games of the season, including one that secured their first win after an 0-6 start, and on two other occasions he drove in what proved to be the ultimate go-ahead run. His Win Probability Added (+0.66) ranks fifth among A’s hitters.
- Moreland: .237/.305/.409, 103 wRC+, 4 HR, 8.6% BB, 21.9% Ks, .274 xwOBA
The return of Moreland also means another left-handed bat, which has been lacking lately as the order got a bit righty-heavy in recent days. He also has a relatively modest strikeout rate compared with the other run producers in Oakland’s lineup.
Here’s the updated roster, with the injury report below.
| Pitchers | Hitters |
|
Starters Chris Bassitt (R) Sean Manaea (L) Frankie Montas (R) Cole Irvin (L) James Kaprielian (R) 60-IL: Mike Fiers (R) Relievers Lou Trivino (R) Jake Diekman (L) Yusmeiro Petit (R) Sergio Romo (R) Burch Smith (R) Cam Bedrosian (R) Deolis Guerra (R) Reymin Guduan (L) IL: Jesús Luzardo (L) IL: A.J. Puk (L) IL: J.B. Wendelken (R) 60-IL: Trevor Rosenthal (R) |
Catchers Sean Murphy (R) Aramis Garcia (R) Infielders 1B: Matt Olson (L) 2B: Jed Lowrie (S) SS: Elvis Andrus (R) 3B: Matt Chapman (R) DH: Mitch Moreland (L) UT: Tony Kemp (L) UT: Chad Pinder (R) Outfielders Mark Canha (R) Ramon Laureano (R) Seth Brown (L) Stephen Piscotty (R) |
Injury report:
- RHP Trevor Rosenthal, 60-day IL, thoracic outlet surgery (July at least)
- RHP Mike Fiers, 60-day IL, elbow (shut down 5/8; moved to 60-day 5/21)
- RHP J.B. Wendelken, 10-day IL, oblique (began sock throws 5/18)
- LHP Jesús Luzardo, 10-day IL, finger (start AAA rehab 5/27)
- LHP A.J. Puk, 10-day IL, biceps (on rehab in AAA)
-
DHMitch Moreland, BACK IN ACTION, rib (activated 5/27)
