Blackburn to open season on injured list
MESA, Ariz. — Oakland Athletics starter Paul Blackburn will begin the season on the injured list due to a torn fingernail on the middle finger of his pitching hand, manager Mark Kotsay said Friday.
Blackburn, an All-Star last season, was a candidate to start Opening Night for the A’s. He tore his nail March 5 during his spring training debut. He can play catch but cannot grip and release a pitch at full strength and would not have time to build up his pitch count before the season, Kotsay said.
The A’s had planned to start with a rotation including Blackburn, Shintaro Fujinami, Drew Rucinski and some combination of their other starters in camp.
James Kaprielian, returning from October shoulder surgery, would likely hold a spot if he stays on track the rest of spring. He started Friday against the San Francisco Giants, allowing five hits and one run and striking out four in four innings. His spring ERA is 1.59.
“Today was a little more stress to the shoulder, so we’ll see how he recovers,” Kotsay said. “At this point, if we can keep pushing him and getting him built up, he should have the opportunity to open with us.”
Kyle Muller, Adam Oller, JP Sears and Ken Waldichuk also remain in camp, and all four have worked at least four innings in a Cactus League outing this spring.
“Paul’s situation shows its head, and thankfully we’ve got guys built up at this point that can step in,” Kotsay said.
Oakland has yet to name a starter for Opening Night against the Angels on March 30 at the Coliseum. Kotsay said the assignment wouldn’t necessarily have gone to Blackburn but “there would have been that opportunity” to start him if healthy.
On Piña: Catcher Manny Piña (left wrist) will also begin the season on the injured list, Kotsay said. Piña had surgery on that wrist in May, and a visit to a specialist Thursday showed inflammation, Kotsay said. Piña has a brace on his wrist and Kotsay did not have a timeline for when he would attempt baseball activities with his catching hand.
Piña, acquired from the Braves, was slated to be Oakland’s backup behind Shea Langeliers. Options to fill that role include Yohel Pozo, Kyle McCann and Tyler Soderstrom, who are not on the 40-man roster and were in camp this spring as non-roster invitees.
Pozo is the only one with MLB experience, playing 21 games with Texas in 2021. He was reassigned to minor-league camp last weekend, but the A’s can bring him back for Cactus League games. Soderstrom, the system’s top prospect, and McCann have played only a handful of games above Double-A.
Pozo’s MLB time doesn’t necessarily make him a favorite, Kotsay said, “but we definitely look at the major-league experience and value that. It would be a jump for McCann as well.”
Kotsay indicated Soderstrom would be unlikely to open with Oakland in a backup role, saying “Most likely, in our situation and looking at how we view Tyler, I think the development probably outweighs accelerating him to the major-league level. But to say that that’s been ruled out — it hasn’t. It’s part of the discussion that we’ll have to entertain now.”
Briefly: Reliever Trevor May struck out the side in his first Cactus League outing in a week. May threw in a minor-league game Monday and felt better able to command his fastball to the inside corner and throw his slider for strikes. … Kaprielian said he wasn’t especially sharp Friday but was “happy with the ability to slow the game down, even with the (pitch) clock, and make pitches with what I had.” … The A’s beat the Giants 7-2 in their Cactus League game. … Seth Brown (shoulder) is limited to designated hitter right now but is scheduled to throw to bases Wednesday and possibly play the outfield next Friday.