Injured Piscotty, Manaea on right path to recovery
OAKLAND >> What’s Stephen Piscotty been up to? Oh, just running in straight lines for the last few days.
One of the final steps in recovery from a knee sprain is turning and cutting while running. Piscotty plans to try that today.
If all goes well, Piscotty is aiming to start his rehab assignment in a week. A’s manager Bob Melvin said Piscotty could join the team in Houston next week and head out on assignment from there.
“I’m trying to stay out of there, they’re rolling!” Piscotty joked.
The A’s have gone 7-2 since Piscotty sprained his right knee sliding into second base June 30 in Anaheim. Mark Canha — an exceptional depth piece — has filled in nicely for Piscotty, but the A’s starting right fielder is anxious to return to his post as the postseason push intensifies.
The same can be said for pitcher Sean Manaea, who is just a few rehab starts away from a potential return.
“I can see the light at the end of the tunnel,” he said.
Manea threw a 15-pitch bullpen session Monday and is planning a rehab start with Class A Stockton on Thursday, when he will throw 65 to 70 pitches. Then he is expecting to start for Triple-A Las Vegas.
Manaea allowed five runs in 2 1/3 innings for the Ports on Saturday, but the “results are whatever.” He said he felt no pain in his throwing shoulder and liked the look of his slider. The velocity on his fastball went up a couple ticks, topping out in the low 90s.
But rotational reinforcements have arrived; Homer Bailey landed in Oakland around 2 p.m. Tuesday. Bailey, 34, has no explanation for a midseason turnaround that’s yielded a 3.35 ERA over his past eight starts.
“I’m sure there’s some type of analytical expert that can give you those numbers of why there’s a difference, but I just don’t have them right now,” Bailey said.
A’s general manager David Forst said the organization noticed the uptick in fastball velocity and successful integration of his splitter as a possible spark for his recent success.
Bailey hasn’t pitched since July 4. Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost stopped Bailey short of stepping on the bullpen mound in preparation for his scheduled start Sunday — the trade had just gone down. Bailey will make his first start as an Athletic today. He’ll be operating on 12 days rest, or rust, which will dictate how long he goes.
“We’ll feel it out,” Melvin said. “One of the things we’ll talk about is how we do things here and how he probably won’t throw too much on his first time out.”