A’s manager Bob Melvin said he knew what question was coming as soon as he arrived for his media availability prior to Sunday's rubber game against the San Diego Padres.
He was asked for an update on Oakland shortstop Marcus Semien.
“He’s progressing,” Melvin said on a video call. “Some batting practice off of one of the coaches today, good chance he’ll take BP on the field tomorrow. If that happens, then hopefully soon thereafter.”
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Semien sat out the second game of a doubleheader with the Houston Astros on Aug. 29 due to soreness on his left side, ending his streak of starting 276 games for the A's.
The A's will play the Astros five times in four days starting Monday, making up for a game postponed during their last series after Daniel Mengden tested positive for the coronavirus.
It goes without saying to have one of their star players back for that series would be huge.
“We’d love to have him back," Melvin said. "I mean, you just get used to a guy that’s in the lineup every day for 450 games -- or whatever it was -- to that point. So, at times during the course of the season, you’re going to have key guys out, and that’s the case for us right now."
Oakland Athletics
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Semien’s MRI on his side came back negative, and he said Friday his CT scan also looked clean.
The shortstop is on his way back, and knowing him, he’ll want to come back as soon as possible.