Reliever Casilla returns

The A’s bullpen got a boost Friday when right-hander Santiago Casilla was activated from the disabled list.

“He’s as versatile a guy as we’ve had down there,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “He’s gotten lefties out. He’s gotten righties out. He’s saved a game for us. He’s pitched multiple innings.

“He’s been a nice piece for us in the bullpen, and it’s good to get him back.”

Casilla posted a 3.32 ERA in 16 appearances before going on the DL on May 26 with a strained right shoulder. He threw a scoreless inning in a rehab appearance for Class A Stockton on Tuesday.

To make room for the 37-yearold,

the A’s optioned right-hander Ryan Dull to Triple-A Nashville. Dull’s ERA was 5.06 in two stints with the big-league club this season.

“He’s still an important guy for us,” Melvin said. “You’ll see him back here again. He’s a guy, who a lot of times, we bring in to get an out or two against maybe their best right-handed hitters in the lineup.”

Spot starter: Right-hander Chris Bassitt will get the nod for Saturday’s game against the Royals, a late replacement for

scheduled starter Trevor Cahill, Melvin said. Cahill, who has a 2.77 ERA, felt something in his Achilles while running, but the A’s don’t predict a DL stint.

Reliving Fowler’s play: By the time Melvin arrived at the Coliseum on Friday, he had seen several replays of Dustin Fowler’s diving catch in the eighth inning of Thursday’s game and had digested all of the Statcast information on the play.

But Melvin didn’t need to know that Fowler reached 25 mph while covering 46 feet and had only 3.4 seconds to make the play on Ramon Torres’ sinking liner to center field to know “it was a great play.”

Statcast graded the play four out of five stars and determined Fowler had a 44 percent chance of making the catch.

“When I first caught it, I didn’t know if it hit the ground or not,” Fowler said. “I was one of the first people to look up at the board and make sure I caught it.”