Triggs may need surgery

Starter Andrew Triggs, who received a cortisone shot for his left hip strain nearly two weeks ago, may be looking at surgery if the hip doesn’t respond to treatment and rehab by the end of this month.

“There’s a tear in the labrum, we knew that going in,” Triggs said Saturday. “So we knew surgery was on the spectrum of possibilities. The hope is still to avoid that.”

Triggs said the cortisone hasn’t had the immediate impact that it did when he received the anti-inflammatory medication for a back injury, but he can ride an exercise bike and walk OK, so he remains optimistic.

If surgery is necessary, specialist Dr. Marc Philippon would perform the operation, as he did for A’s left-hander

Sean Manaea and A’s minorleaguer Mark Canha.

Recovery would be six months, so if it is needed, Triggs hopes he’d be throwing off the mound in time for spring training.

Old pals: Ramon Hernandez and Barry Zito, All-Stars with the A’s, were reunited Saturday; Zito threw out the first pitch (sadly, not a curveball), and Hernandez caught it.

“We had such a chemistry as a battery,” Zito said, “I didn’t have to shake, ever. He put down what I wanted to throw, and it’s pretty rare to get into sync to that level. It was like that for years.”

Hernandez, 41, lives in Florida and is a winter-ball coach in Venezuela. “That’s what I want to do in the future, hopefully be a coach in the major leagues and a manager,” he said. “I’d love to do that.”

Signings: The A’s signed second-round pick Greg Deichmann, an outfielder from LSU, and third-rounder Nick Allen, a shortstop from Francis Parker High School in San Diego. Allen was considered a risky pick because of a commitment to USC; Oakland reportedly gave him $2 million.

“We evaluated Nick as a first-round talent and considered it a great opportunity to get him where we did,” scouting director Eric Kubota said. “He's a special defensive player, and we think he's going to produce with the bat as well.”

Oakland signed right-hander Brian Howard (eighth round, TCU) and left-hander Jared Poché (ninth, LSU).