Davis goes on 10-day DL
Khris Davis said he hopes to miss the minimum 10 days after the A’s home run leader was placed on the disabled list with a strained right groin Wednesday.
Davis’ DL stint is retroactive to Monday, meaning he’d be eligible to return next Thursday. He was injured on a swing in Sunday’s win at Toronto and was diagnosed with a Grade 1 strain.
“I could probably come back before 10 days,” Davis said,. “but I think they just don’t want me limping out there. They want me at full strength.”
The A’s called up infielder Franklin Barreto, who started at second base Wednesday night with Jed Lowrie taking Davis’ usual role of designated hitter. Oakland also promoted Wednesday’s starting pitcher Daniel Gossett and reliever Wilmer Font was designated for assignment.
Davis, who leads the majors with 98 home runs since the start of 2016, is batting .235 with 13 homers and 38 RBIs this season. Manager Bob Melvin said the A’s are “not going to
bring (Davis) back until we feel like there aren’t any implications once he’s out in the field.”
With Davis out, Melvin said the A’s will break up DH duties between multiple players and likely use Matt Chapman and Matt Olson in the cleanup spot, depending on matchups. Chapman, a right-handed hitter, made his first start batting cleanup Wednesday against Seattle left-hander Marco Gonzales.
Barreto was with the A’s in April but appeared in just one game without an at-bat. He was hitting .235 with six homers and 17 RBIs at Triple-A Nashville.
Gossett also was recalled from Triple-A Nashville, where he was 4-0 with a 1.63 ERA.
Font, who was acquired from the Dodgers on April 25 for minor-league left-hander Logan Salow, has given up 10 homers in 17 innings this season and had a 14.85 ERA with Oakland.
Spot starter: Right-hander Josh Lucas will start for the A’s on Thursday, Melvin said. After Brett Anderson exited his Friday start at Toronto with a shoulder injury, Lucas threw 32⁄3 innings, allowing a run on two hits with seven strikeouts.
Lucas has not started a game in the minors or majors (in which he has seven appearances) since 2013. He threw 50 pitches in the Toronto outing and will be on a similar pitch limit Thursday. Briefly: Right-hander Kendall Graveman was not available to start Thursday because Oakland optioned him to Triple-A on May 15. Players must wait 10 days to be recalled unless a player on the major-league roster goes on the DL. … The A’s announced several fan initiatives. For Monday through Thursday home games from June through August, two kids 12 and younger will be allowed in free for every purchase of one adult ticket. Also, kids can claim two free tickets for reading four books through the team’s Summer Home Run Readers program.