Davis on IL with bad hip
Nearly three weeks after he endured a left hip/oblique contusion making a catch in foul territory in Pittsburgh, the A’s Khris Davis finally has gone on the injured list.
The A’s made the announcement regarding their main designated hitter Friday afternoon. The move is retroactive to Wednesday. Oakland recalled rookie outfielder Skye Bolt from Triple-A Las Vegas to take Davis’ spot on the roster.
While playing left field, Davis rammed into the wall in foul territory making that grab against the Pirates on May 5. He has appeared in eight games since then, most recently when he had one at-bat in Tuesday’s 5-3 win at Cleveland.
In his pregame news conference Friday, A’s manager Bob Melvin said the team plans to keep Davis from swinging for five days and then evaluate his status. Melvin said the injury hadn’t gotten much better or worse since May 5.
“I think there were some days after a day off, it felt a little bit better in BP,” Melvin said, “but then once he got into the game, it was the same. It’s the prudent thing to do to shut him down a little bit.”
Davis has a team-leading 12 homers this season, but only two since April 13. He also leads the A’s in RBIs with 29, and is batting .248. He hit .247 in each of the previous four seasons.
Though Davis was hampered on the A’s three-city road trip that ended Wednesday in Cleveland, Oakland carried a sixgame winning streak into Friday’s homestand opener against Seattle. One reason: Mark Canha hit five home runs on that trip. He added another Friday.
“It just kind of felt like having KD there even though, obviously, we’re going to miss him,” Melvin said. “But we’ve seen Mark Canha do this in the past where he gets an opportunity and he produces. And you get him consistent at-bats, and he hits home runs.
“So, if ever there’s a guy that we feel really comfortable about replacing KD for a period of time, it would be Mark.” Briefly: Bolt will be on his second stint with Oakland; he went 1-for-4 in that weekend series in Pittsburgh early this month . ... Lefty Brett Anderson, who had to leave his start in Cleveland on Monday night because of a cervical strain, said he feels fine and will make his scheduled start against the Mariners on Sunday . ... Jharel Cotton was at the Coliseum on Friday after giving up three runs (including two solo homers) in 21⁄3 innings in a rehab start for Class A Stockton at Lake Elsinore on Thursday night. Cotton threw 45 pitches Thursday night as he comes back from Tommy John surgery he had in March 2018. Melvin figured Cotton will throw approximately 60 pitches in his next outing. Steve Kroner is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.