Bassitt hopes to return to Bay Area soon, be around A's

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OAKLAND -- Athletics starter Chris Bassitt looks to return to the Bay Area on Friday after undergoing successful facial surgery on Tuesday at Rush Medical Center in Chicago. 

Plastic surgeon Dr. Peter Revenaugh performed the surgery “to stabilize and plate the tripod fracture with good fixation and debride other small fractured bones from the incident.”

A’s manager Bob Melvin admitted Bassitt doesn’t look as he did before the surgery, of course. He saw some photos of the pitcher and has been in constant contact.

The great news for Bassitt is he will be able to physically be around the team soon. 

Bassitt was struck in the face by a line drive off the bat of Chicago White Sox outfielder Brian Goodwin on Aug. 17 and had landed on the 10-day Injured List with facial fractures. He has been in Chicago ever since.

“There’s a good chance he’s going to be back here tomorrow,” Melvin said on Thursday. “The surgery was successful and everything we’re hearing is that it couldn’t have gone better, so that’s a good thing.”

Bassitt is eager to get back, of course. So eager in fact, he broke down the timeframe to where he anticipates returning to pitch in a game the day after his possible return. Bassitt set a time frame for just a couple weeks, but Melvin isn’t putting any stock in that and knows that’s not going to be the case. 

“I don’t know if that’s realistic or not, but it wouldn’t surprise you from him,” Melvin said. 

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Melvin hopes Bassitt is able to at least be around the team in the clubhouse once he returns to the Bay Area, especially after A’s third baseman Matt Chapman underwent season-ending surgery last year and wasn’t able to be with the team after due to coronavirus protocols.

“It’ll be great,” Melvin said. “That was one of the downfalls with COVID that a team leader like that wasn’t allowed to be with us, so we missed that. Chris is in the same ilk, a team leader for us and someone that has a prominent personality in the clubhouse and we’d love to have him back sooner than later.”

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