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West Notes: Hahn, Bassitt, Gutierrez, McCullers

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After giving Sean Manaea his first start tonight, the Athletics will recall right-hander Jesse Hahn from Triple-A Nashville to start tomorrow’s game against the Astros, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. The 26-year-old spent much of the 2015 season in Oakland’s rotation after coming over from the Padres in the Derek Norris trade, but his season was cut short by an injured right flexor tendon and a woeful Spring Training landed him in Triple-A. Hahn has recorded a 2.04 ERA in four starts with Nashville this season, though he hasn’t been as dominant as that mark might initially suggest. Hahn has lasted a total of 17 2/3 innings in those four outings with a 13-to-9 K/BB ratio.

More from the American League…

  • The Athletics’ rotation has struggled of late, and now right-hander Chris Bassitt is heading to the DL after seeing his velocity dip from 92-94 mph to 89-90 mph in his most recent start. He’s been diagnosed with an elbow sprain, Slusser tweets, but there are some worrying indications. As MLB.com’s Jane Lee reports, Bassitt says he’s struggling with more than just his velocity, and indicated that he’s been quietly dealing with elbow discomfort for some time. “I didn’t want to say anything because I’ve worked harder than I ever have this offseason,” Bassitt said. “I felt so excited and prepared going into this season, and for this to happen, it really sucks. The way I’m feeling right now, I can’t throw right now.”
  • The Astros and Dodgers had the most notable scouting entourages on hand to watch Cuban righty Vladimir Gutierrez in what will likely be his final showcase, Baseball America’s Ben Badler reports. There were plenty of other organizations with eyes on Gutierrez, of course, so one shouldn’t read too much into that. Generally, says Badler, the interesting youngster showed a mid-90s fastball and impressive breaking ball, though his fastball command and other offerings still need work.
  • Astros righty Lance McCullers Jr. is ready for a sixty to seventy-five pitch outing in his next extended spring work, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports on Twitter. That certainly seems to indicate that he could be nearing a rehab stint, which would be good news for a Houston club that badly misses his high-octane arm in the rotation.

Jesse Hahn Shut Down For More Than A Month

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JULY 17: Hahn told reporters, including MLB.com’s Jane Lee, that upon receiving a second opinion, it’s been confirmed that there’s no ligament damage in his elbow (Twitter link). Hahn is still, however dealing with inflammation — specifically in his forearm, per the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser (on Twitter). He’ll be shut down from throwing for more than a month.

JULY 16: Athletics right-hander Jesse Hahn will be sidelined indefinitely and spend a “somewhat extended stay” on the disabled list with a flexor tendon injury, GM Billy Beane told John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group.

“We’re going to be conservative with Jesse,” said Beane. “And the tough thing with is starters is once they’re shut down, it take a while to build back up. So it’ll be longer rather than shorter.”

In the meantime, Hickey notes, right-hander Chris Bassitt is likely to be recalled from Triple-A to step into the club’s rotation (once a fifth starter is needed on July 25). Both Hahn and Bassitt were acquired in offseason trades, with Hahn coming from San Diego by way of the Derek Norris deal and Bassitt coming over from the White Sox as part of Oakland’s compensation for Jeff Samardzija.

Hahn has been largely excellent while working out of the Athletics’ rotation — 3.35 ERA, 6.0 K/9, 2.3 BB/9, 52.6 percent ground-ball rate — making the loss a reasonably large one for Oakland. Bassitt has handled himself well in a trio of spot starts and a handful of relief appearances, compiling a 2.93 ERA, but he’s an extreme fly-ball pitcher that has been fortunate in terms of home runs allowed, leading sabermetric stats to forecast a far gloomier picture (4.05 FIP, 5.44 xFIP, 4.96 SIERA).

The Athletics currently sit in last place in the AL West, eight and a half games back from the division-leading Angels and eight games behind the current Wild Card leaders — the Twins and Astros. Hahn’s injury comes at a critical time for an Oakland team that is widely expected to become a selling club but still hopes to claw its way back into the division race prior to the non-waiver trade deadline on July 31.

Minor Moves: Aaron Thompson, Chris Bassitt

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Here are today’s minor moves from around the game.

  • The Twins have selected the contract of lefty Aaron Thompson, Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press tweets. Thompson will take the roster spot vacated when the Twins lost Sam Deduno to the Astros’ waiver claim. Thompson, 27, posted a 3.98 ERA with 8.8 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 in 52 innings this season at Triple-A Rochester. The former Marlins first-round draft pick appeared briefly in the big leagues with the Pirates in 2011.
  • The White Sox have selected the contract of pitcher Chris Bassitt from Double-A Birmingham, Fred B. Mitchell of the Chicago Tribune tweets. The White Sox also optioned Scott Carroll to Triple-A Charlotte and recalled pitcher Eric Surkamp. Bassitt will start the second game of Chicago’s doubleheader against the Tigers tonight (against another pitcher making his big-league debut, Kyle Ryan). The 25-year-old Bassitt has pitched well in 34 2/3 innings at Birmingham this year, posting a 1.56 ERA with 9.3 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9.

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