A’s lose: Shutout 1-0, Oakland reportedly will call up Daric Barton as Josh Reddick appears headed to the disabled list.
CLEVELAND — When the season started, it appeared the A’s had too many starting outfielders.
Now they don’t have enough. With Josh Reddick heading for the disabled list Wednesday, Yoenis Céspedes is the only man still standing from the group of four everyday outfielders — and Céspedes spent 15 days on the disabled list in April.
The A’s offense certainly appeared diminished Tuesday in a 1-0 loss to the Indians, and according to one source, the team will call up former Oakland first baseman Daric Barton from Triple-A Sacramento on Wednesday. Barton plays terrific defense, allowing Brandon Moss to move to the outfield, and Barton also draws a lot of walks. He is batting .287 with three homers and 21 RBIs with Sacramento.
On Tuesday, Oakland didn’t get a man past first base all night in getting shut out for the fourth time this season. Céspedes tried, with an attempted steal of second with one out in the ninth, but Yan Gomes threw him out and Chris Perez struck out Moss to end the game.
Manager Bob Melvin said that Céspedes had the green light, and, he said, “You’ve got to try it,” citing Perez’s 1.5second time to the plate. “He didn’t get as good a jump and Gomes made a good throw, but if I didn’t want him to go, I’d put on the red light.”
Center fielders Coco Crisp (hamstring) and Chris Young (quad) already are on the DL, both men incurring injuries in Oakland’s 19-inning win over the Angels last week. They are eligible to return in one week, but it’s unclear if one or both will be ready by then; Young is more likely to be back first.
“Obviously, it’s tough, when you look at the guys going down — they’re a big part of the team,” A’s second baseman Eric Sogard said. “That means other guys have to step up.”
Reddick’s injury stems from colliding with the wall in foul territory chasing a pop-up on April 7 at Houston. He took three games off and has received regular treatment, but it has become an issue lately and he was having trouble getting to inside pitches.
“The last few days have been pretty rough,” Reddick said.
Reddick said that he had had a left wrist tendon problem with Boston that ultimately needed surgery after the 2011 season; he hopes this does not wind up being a similar problem.
Reddick received a shot of Xylocaine, a numbing agent, on Tuesday but he still had discomfort swinging the bat, so he also received an injection of cortisone.
The A’s have another potential DL candidate in starter Jarrod Parker, who came out of Monday’s game after five innings because of a neck problem that has bothered him this season. Tuesday, Parker said, “It’s to the point it’s time to take care of it.”
Melvin, however, said that after consulting with the training staff, he believes that Parker will be OK to make his next start Saturday at Seattle.
With Reddick out, Michael Taylor was in right field and batting ninth against Cleveland’s Zach McAllister, Taylor’s third career start against a right-hander starter in 17 career starts, and his first this season. He went 0-for 3 but he did make a nice defensive play, racing in to make a shoe-tops grab on a little flare by Mike Aviles in the seventh.
Barton was not on the 40- man roster after clearing waivers in April so the team will need to clear a roster spot for him.