The A's got even more bad news Tuesday when they found out left-handed pitcher Sean Manaea has rotator cuff tendinitis in his pitching shoulder. Manaea will be shut down indefinitely, and there is a chance he will miss the rest of the season.
"It's going to be some time," A's manager Bob Melvin told reporters in Houston. "It depends on when he feels good enough to start the strengthening program, and then after that, how long it takes him to get through starting to play catch, throwing bullpens and so forth. Obviously we're going to be careful with him. Whether there's enough time left, I'm not sure yet."
The news came just hours after the A's placed fellow starter Brett Anderson on the 10-day DL with a left forearm strain. Oakland has had to use the disabled list 25 times this season, including 11 for starting pitchers, and that doesn't even include season-ending injuries to Jharel Cotton and A.J. Puk that happened in spring training.
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Manaea, 26, was 12-9 with a 3.59 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in 27 starts this season. He first went on the 10-day DL Sunday after feeling discomfort in his shoulder during a throwing session.
"We're hoping to get him back at some point in time this season," Melvin said. "Whether that happens or not, I'm not sure."
As it currently stands, Mike Fiers, Edwin Jackson, and Trevor Cahill are Oakland's only healthy starting pitchers on the active roster. Melvin announced that right-handed pitcher Frankie Montas will be called up from Triple-A Nashville to start Thursday against Seattle. Daniel Mengden will start Saturday after pitching four scoreless innings out of the bullpen in Monday night's loss to the Houston Astros.
"Mengden and Montas, when they were in Triple-A, I felt like performance-wise still could have been pitching here," Melvin said. "Based on the last couple of injuries, they're back here now, and we feel good about these guys."
Oakland Athletics
Jackson and Cahill are slated to start the final two games of Oakland's series in Houston.