Injuries to the Oakland Athletics continue to mount. Just a couple days after the team was forced to place Jesse Hahn on the 15-day disabled list, struggling ace Sonny Gray has landed on the shelf with a forearm injury.
Gray, exited Saturday's game against the Chicago Cubs after five innings. It was a surprising exit, as he was pitching well and didn't show any pain on the bump. It remains to be seen exactly how long Gray will be out. Though, Oakland may play it close to the vest with him. It's his second trip to the DL and the former Cy Young candidate is having a miserable season.
Gray is pitching to a 5-11 record with a 5.74 ERA and 1.50 WHIP in 21 starts on the season. This comes on the heels of a 2015 campaign that saw the 26-year-old post a 2.73/1.08 split in 31 starts for the A's. There's a decent chance Oakland could decide to shut Gray down for the remainder of the year. The team is in last place and going nowhere fast.
With Gray now on the shelf, Oakland called up Chris Smith from Triple-A Nashville to take his spot in the rotation. Smith, 35, has not seen action in the majors since 2010. Needless to say, he's nothing more than a short-term fix.
Gray's injury adds to a laundry list of A's players currently on the DL, including multiple starting pitchers. He joins Henderson Alvarez, Jesse Hahn and Jarrod Parker on the shelf.
Oakland also sent struggling starter Dillon Overton to the minors after he posted an absurd 10.97 ERA in five starts with the big league club. Add in the trade of Rich Hill to the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the A's rotation is incredibly thing heading into the week.
In fact, Oakland will need to find three starters to take to the bump this week. Smith and Zach Neal will each take to the rotation with the third pitcher yet to be decided. It wouldn't be a huge surprise to see former Dodgers top prospect Jharel Cotton, who was acquired in the Hill trade, get a start here soon. He's pitched well in his A's minor league debut last week, throwing six innings of six hit baseball while yielding just one run.