The Oakland Athletics are dealing with a number of injuries to their pitching staff, but some optimism was reported over the weekend regarding three of their pitchers as well as their estimated returns.
Closer Sean Doolittle suffered a slight tear in his left rotator cuff earlier in the offseason during his throwing program and it was unclear when he would be able to make a return. The Athletics acquired reliever Tyler Clippard from the Washington Nationals, which seemingly proved to be his replacement in the meantime, but it doesn't look like Doolittle will be out for too long.
According to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, there still remains no timetable for the left-hander's return, but the "general consensus" is that he might not miss a ton of time at the beginning of the 2015 season. Doolittle had "considerable inflammation" in the area and received a platelet-rich plasma injection to treat the injury in late January.
In his first full season as the A's closer, the 28-year-old recorded 22 saves while maintaining a 2.73 ERA and 0.73 WHIP in 61 games (62 2/3 innings). When he returns to full health Oakland's bullpen will feature a formidable eighth and ninth inning combo with Clippard and Doolittle.
As for their starting rotation, Jarrod Parker and A.J. Griffin underwent Tommy John surgery at the beginning of the 2014 season and it was unknown when they would return because the recovery process can vary. However, Jane Lee of MLB.com notes manager Bob Melvin and assistant general manager David Forst expect the two youngsters to be back by June, barring any setbacks.
The 26-year-old Parker is 25-16 with a 3.68 ERA and 1.24 WHIP in 62 career starts (61 with Oakland and one with the Arizona Diamondbacks) from 2011-2013. He finished fifth in the 2012 AL Rookie of the Year voting. This was the second Tommy John procedure of his career.
Griffin, 27, is 21-11 with a 3.60 ERA and 1.13 WHIP in 47 starts with the Athletics in 2012 and 2013.
Their returns will give Oakland even more depth after the team acquired starters Jesse Hahn, Chris Bassitt, Sean Nolin and Kendall Graveman this offseason in trades with the San Diego Padres and Toronto Blue Jays.
