6:00pm: Blackburn will be shut down for ten days, says manager Bob Melvin (h/t Jane Lee of MLB.com).
4:18pm: The Athletics rotation has taken another blow, this time involving righty Paul Blackburn. He is dealing with a right forearm strain, as Jane Lee writes in a piece for MLB.com. It now seems all but certain that Blackburn will not be ready to join the staff to open the year. With the rotation already missing Jharel Cotton and recent signee Trevor Cahill not quite ready to go, that leaves Oakland with much less depth to begin the season than had been anticipated. Lee suggests that “by default”, the A’s early-season rotation is now set to consist of Kendall Graveman, Sean Manaea, Daniel Mengden, Andrew Triggs and Daniel Gossett.
The 24-year-old Blackburn made ten starts last season in his first taste of major-league action. While the righty pitched to a nice 3.22 ERA and a 56.3% ground ball rate, his 4.76 xFIP and shockingly low 3.38 K/9 left some question marks surrounding his capability to repeat that level of run-prevention.
Blackburn was a supplemental first round pick of the Cubs back during the 2012 draft. He came to the Athletics organization by way of a 2016 trade that sent Danny Valencia to the Mariners. Blackburn made his major-league debut on July 1st, 2017, when the righty allowed zero earned runs in six innings against the Braves.
And there are people who post on here that think Oakland will compete this year…
The offense and defense is still banging, the A’s will make some noise this year for sure.
They won’t surprise me if they finish last nor will it surprise me if they are in the thick of it for a wild card come September. This team is sneaky good. They’ve got a good young core that reminds me of the Giambi, Tejada, Chavez days.
As if they could predict injuries? Kind of a dumb comment on a post like this
… What a mess. The problem is that I don’t think anyone from this rotation has a ceiling higher than a number 3 or 4 starter on a good staff. That’s not going to win you any division (not now, not in the future), let alone a playoff series.
2015 Royals beg to differ
But but but James Shields…
Manaea is sick, what are you talking about? Graveman is absolutely a solid #3-4 on a playoff team. Mengden could break out this season too. I don’t think you’ve ever seen these guys pitch before, tbh.
I don’t know who you are, but I like you. I was expecting big things out of Cotton this year and am super bummed for him. Still think we have enough pitching once you factor our offense and our defense that is vastly improved compared to previous years.
Man, I wish the Cubs wouldn’t of traded Blackburn. They might have not needed to sign Chatwood this offseason, if they kept him.
But if they still had Blackburn, they wouldn’t have Montgomery, which still would leave a need for 5th starter/long reliever–basically what Chatwood is.
No structural damage on MRI, will be day to day and resume throwing when his arm feels better.
twitter.com/JaneMLB/status/976943697735565312
Blackburn is probably headed for TJ surgery. About 80% of forearm strains end up there. Sad to end your season before it begins.
MRI came clean just soreness at this point… He will be re-evaluated in 2 more weeks…
Time to go after U. Jimenez and/or S. Feldman…
If the Indians cut Alexi Ogando, the A’s should be all over that, he can start or relieve and has only been bad one season in 2014 and serviceable ever since and was a SP last year in Korea.