LaMarre is up for Davis
ANAHEIM — Ryan LaMarre was in the Angels’ organization just last week, and on Tuesday, the A’s called up the outfielder to face the team with which he spent spring training.
“I couldn’t believe it,” LaMarre said. “They said, ‘You’re heading to Anaheim,’ and I was like, ‘What? Am I going back to the Angels?’ ”
LaMarre, acquired Sunday from the Angels for a player to be named or cash, came up when the A’s placed center fielder Rajai Davis on the disabled list with a left hamstring strain. Davis said he is feeling much improved and he did some running at Angel Stadium on Tuesday, but he understands that the team wants to be cautious.
“I just wasn’t quite ready the other day,” Davis said of his workout session Sunday when he first tested the hamstring. “I feel a lot better now, night and day, but we’re trying to prevent something more severe from happening.”
Davis is eligible to come off the DL on Monday at Minnesota.
“We just felt like the legs are such a big part of his game, we really wanted him to be at 100 percent,” manager Bob Melvin said. “When he ran the other day, he just didn’t feel he was all the way there, and the last thing you want is your leadoff hitter and speed guy playing with some restrictions.”
LaMarre, 28, plays all three outfield positions and will handle the right-handed outfielder role on the bench that Mark Canha had before he was sent down, which means LaMarre could start in center Sunday against Houston’s Dallas Keuchel.
Other moves: The A’s designated right-hander Raul Alcantara for assignment and brought up Cesar Valdez to handle the long-relief role. Alcantara had a 16.71 ERA in three appearances, and opponents were batting .323 with three homers against him, but he’s considered a promising talent and still only 24, so there is a good chance the A’s will lose him on waivers.
“We still feel like he has a nice future ahead of him,” Melvin said. “But once you get a few outings where it’s not going in the right direction for you, couple that with sitting around for five, six, seven days and going out again and having some struggles, it just kind of mounts on you a little bit. … If he gets picked up by someone and is in the big leagues, that’s great for him. If not, hopefully he stays with us and can get back to the big leagues again. It was just an extended streak that I don’t think was doing much for us, nor for his confidence, either.”
Briefly: Melvin said reliever John Axford (shoulder) is playing catch, and when he is ready to throw off a mound, he might join the A’s on their road trip to continue his rehab work. … Daniel Mengden (foot surgery) will throw two sets of 20 pitches each Wednesday at Class A Stockton.