How will the A’s use Chad Pinder? Plus, an update on Mike Fiers
Oakland Athletics: Chad Pinder returns to the outfield, Mike Fiers to throw first bullpen next week.
After a hamstring injury kept him off the field for a month and change, Chad Pinder will make his return to the field for Friday’s game against the San Francisco.
Pinder strained his right hamstring on July 7 running up the first base line on the final out of an A’s loss to the Houston, and returns to a roster that looks much different than the one he left. The addition of infielder Josh Harrison and the suspension of outfielder Ramón Laureano could mean far more starts in the outfield for Pinder.
Pinder has played nearly everywhere on the diamond throughout his five years in Oakland, including 223 games in the outfield. Pinder has played 92 games at second base with the A’s, but with Harrison, Tony Kemp and, occasionally, Jed Lowrie able to play that position, Pinder will be most needed to fill the void left by Laureano.
Outfielder Seth Brown was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas to make room for Pinder on the roster, and Stephen Piscotty has struggled enough both this and last season that he’s lost consistent playing time.
After a cold streak, Brown hit three home runs with seven hits, including two doubles, on the last 10-game road trip.
“We’ve increased our versatility some for the most part against left-handed pitching,” Melvin said of Pinder.
Pinder has had numerous hamstring injuries in his career, this one a Grade 2 strain. In four games on a rehab assignment with Las Vegas, Pinder went 4-for-16 with a home run.
“It seems like this one was a little tougher and took me a little longer to bounce back from as long as it took for it to stop bothering me,” Pinder said. “This one is higher up near my butt. This one just took a little longer.”
Pinder was slashing .216/.269/.358 with a .627 OPS in 46 games before his trip to the IL. He missed games from April 5 to May 13 with a right knee sprain sustained when making a difficult catch at the right field wall in the first week of the season.
Could Mike Fiers return?
With Chris Bassitt scheduled to undergo surgery on his facial fractures early next week, the A’s could be looking for ways to fill the gap in the rotation. With a general six-week recovery time for Bassitt’s bones to heal, the team is operating as if they may not get their ace back this year.
Mike Fiers, who’s spent most of the season on the injured list, could make his return before the season’s end and be an option out of the rotation, if he can get stretched out. Fiers will throw a flat ground session on Saturday and is expected to throw his first bullpen on Friday, he said.
“I feel great, building up stage as a starter you don’t want to rush it,” Fiers said. “I got set back earlier in the year because we pushed it too early, Right now, I’m having no pain.”
Fiers, who signed a one-year, $3.5 million deal in the offseason, started the year on the IL with a lumbar injury and made two starts in early May before getting shut down again on May 8 with a sprained right elbow. He was placed on the 60-day IL in late May and visited specialist Dr. James Andrews soon after, who told him he would not need surgery.
He’s taken it slow in this recovery, and said he is willing to accept any role when back healthy — out of the bullpen or the rotation, which is possible with Bassitt’s injury.
“However I fit in is how I will,” Fiers said. “And I’m sure Bob will have a plan for when I’m back. So many things can change, so it’s hard to put a role onto what I’m doing.”
Other options are on the table. Paul Blackburn is expected to make his next start on turn, Melvin said, which would have him go against the Seattle Mariners on Monday. The A’s could call up Daulton Jefferies again to fill Bassitt’s spot, too. A.J. Puk hasn’t been stretched out to slide into a starter role, and is expected to pitch out of the bullpen for the rest of the year.
Elvis Andrus and Starling Marte
Both Marte and Andrus emerged OK and will play Friday following a scary collision in the outfield in the final game of the A’s series against the Chicago White Sox. Andrus was slotted at shortstop and Marte in center field.