Rehab ahead for Laureano, Phegley
A’s center fielder Ramón Laureano, placed on the IL with a right shin stress reaction, said Wednesday that he’s expected to need about four weeks of recovery time.
“I’ll be back, though,” Laureano said. “I’m going to make the most of it.”
Laureano said that his leg problems began in Japan, where the A’s opened the regular season in March; he was not comfortable on the turf at the Tokyo Dome and felt he couldn’t get his footing. The problem persisted throughout the season and worsened in July, even as Laureano was putting up terrific numbers. He hit an Oaklandrecord .392 in July with eight home runs and 18 RBIs in 22 games.
“It’s been pretty painful,” Laureano said, explaining that it particularly bothered him in the outfield and any time he had to stop — a recent slide into second felt like getting a knife in his tibia, he said. “It’s tough, because we’re playing so well and I want to be out there.”
Overall, he’s batting a teamhigh .284 with 21 homers and 58 RBIs; he is second among bigleague center fielders in home runs (behind only the Angels’ Mike Trout, who has 35) and third in RBIs. Laureano has recorded the most homers by an A’s center fielder since Dave Henderson in 1991.
“It stings,” manager Bob Melvin said. “This guy is probably playing as well as anyone on our team the past two months . ... It’s a tough one for us.”
Josh Phegley also went on the IL with a left thumb bone bruise that was not responding to treatment as quickly as hoped and that was affecting Phegley particularly when he was catching; Melvin said the hope is that Phegley will miss the minimum time but the team didn’t want to risk the injury lingering.
The A’s recalled Beau Taylor from TripleA Las Vegas to help with the catching duties. Nick Martini was promoted for outfield depth and was in the lineup against Milwaukee on Wednesday, batting second.
“It’s a little better balance to our lineup,” Melvin said of adding Martini, a lefthanded hitter, near the top of the order. “This guy is a true onbase guy. He was leading off for us last year in the wildcard game.”
Mark Canha is likely to get the bulk of time in center with Laureano out. Right fielder Stephen Piscotty remained on his rehab assignment as he recovers from a right knee sprain, but he’s close to returning.
“It will be kind of a group effort,” Melvin said of trying to make up for Laureano’s production.
Oakland designated righthander Andrew Triggs for assignment to make room for Tanner Roark, who was acquired from the Reds earlier in the day. Reliever Brian Schlitter cleared waivers and was sent to Las Vegas.