Oakland’s big moves could be internal
The A’s might not have to look outside of the organization to find a boost at the trade deadline.
Sean Manaea made his fourth minorleague rehab start Wednesday and recovering A.J. Puk and Jharel Cotton pitched in relief for Class A Stockton a day prior.
Outfielder Stephen Piscotty, who has been on the injured list with a sprained right knee since June 30, is expected to go on a rehab assignment soon.
“We have some guys who are down that we think can help us, and who knows what the trade deadline will bring,” manager Bob Melvin said before Thursday night’s game against Texas. “Anytime you have some injured guys who were a big part (of the team) … you can get incrementally better from within. It doesn’t necessarily have to
be a trade.”
After posting a 9.72 ERAin three starts at Class A Stockton, Manaea continued his return from shoulder surgery by starting for TripleA Las Vegas on Wednesday. The lefthander struck out seven but allowed five earned runs on three homers in 41⁄3 innings.
“Everybody has seen the numbers, but it’s kind of tough to evaluate a performance in Vegas,” said Melvin, who got reports that Manaea’s velocity and command were good. “I know at least one of those home runs was what they’re calling a ‘Vegas home run.’ ”
Manaea threw 76 pitches in Las Vegas’ loss to El Paso, and if everything goes according to plan, he’ll bump to 90 or more pitches in his final two rehab starts. He could return to the A’s rotation at that point.
Puk and Cotton are further away. Puk, who isn’t on the A’s 40man roster while recovering from Tommy John surgery, picked up the win for Stockton with two innings of relief Tuesday. Cotton, who is coming back from a hamstring injury following UCL surgery, also threw an inning out of the bullpen in that game.
Piscotty ran, did outfield drills and took batting practice Thursday. Melvin said the .264 career hitter could go on a rehab assignment this weekend.
“We feel good about the guys we have here right now,” Melvin said. “We try to focus on today and not look ahead, because sometimes you get disappointed. … You start looking too much forward to a guy, and if it doesn’t happen, you can get disappointed. We’re just kind of happy with what we have right now.” Fond farewell: The A’s reinstated Nick Hundley from the 10day injured list and designated the 35yearold catcher for assignment. He batted .200 in 31 games before being sidelined with back spasms in June and undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery.
Hundley has played 974 games over 12 seasons for the A’s, Giants, Orioles, Padres and Rockies.
“My guess is he’ll probably end up somewhere else,” Melvin said. “We enjoyed our time with him. He’s a great personality. He’s a good leader. He has all of those qualities of being a catcher who is impactful with the staff.
“We just didn’t have a space for him right now, unfortunately. But based on what he did last year and his history, he’ll wind up somewhere. We’ll wish him the best.”