Canha back; Powell on DL

ANAHEIM — Mark Canha had an early day Sunday, hopping a 6 a.m. flight from New Orleans to Dallas before the outfielder arrived at Angel Stadium just before 11 a.m.

“Not much sleep, you know how it goes,” he said. “You just slam a coffee and go.”

Just one coffee? “It was a big one,” Canha said.

Canha had the highest average of any A’s player with more than 25 at-bats this spring, batting .362 with four homers, second most on the team, and 10 RBIs.

“We’ve seen Mark be very productive for us here,” manager Bob Melvin said. “He had a great spring, he homered in his first game at Nashville. He’s always been a big part of this team; it’s just sometimes he hasn’t been here.”

Canha was one of the final cuts the day before the season. Then the minor-league schedule started a week after the big leagues got going, leaving Canha with a lot of time off between at-bats.

“I was a little worried going into the season because I had so many days without playing, but I put some good swings on the ball,” Canha said. “You never know when you take four or five days off, but I’m still feeling good, still feeling some momentum from spring training.”

Canha’s arrival gives the A’s four right-handed-hitting outfielders to complement the left-handed-hitting Matt Joyce. Stephen Piscotty is the starting right fielder, and Canha, Jake Smolinski and Trayce Thompson are available off the bench. Infielder Franklin Barreto, recalled Saturday when Chad Pinder went on the disabled list, also can play in the outfield, and bats right-handed, too.

Canha is the only one of the bunch with much experience at first base, so he might be an option there in the games against the Dodgers in Los Angeles on Tuesday and Wednesday. With Boog Powell

going on the DL with a right knee sprain Sunday, Smolinski and Thompson are likely to share time in center. Smolinski was in center Sunday, and Thompson probably will get at least one start against his former team.

“We have some left-handers coming up, and most of these righties can hit righties anyway,” Melvin said. “Sometimes it’s the left-left matchup that’s a little more difficult, so we’re not too worried about that.”