And then there were two.
The Athletics placed Opening Day starter Alex Wood on the 15-day injured list Wednesday with rotator cuff tendonitis, where the veteran left-hander will join Paul Blackburn (metatarsal stress reaction) and Joe Boyle (lower back strain).
Wood pitched a season low two innings in an 8-4 loss in Seattle Sunday, with both manager Mark Kotsay and Wood conceding there was an issue with his shoulder. Wood returned home for a doctor’s visit and an MRI.
“Were probably looking at him not throwing for 10 to 14 days, re-evaluating from there,” Kotsay told reporters before the A’s (19-25) faced the Houston Astros (17-25) in Game 3 of a four-game series at Minute Maid Park. “I don’t want to put a timeline on it. But I do know he won’t be throwing for the next 10 days at least.”
The A’s also signed right-handed pitcher Aaron Brooks off the Las Vegas roster and promoted left-hander Hogan Harris for the second time this season. Brooks is the scheduled starter Wednesday night against Houston.
Brady Basso, a left-hander called up from Double-A Midland on Tuesday as a “just in case” long relief option, has been shipped back to Triple-A Las Vegas. In addition, shortstop Darell Hernaiz (ankle) was transferred to the 60-day injured list.
Brooks will become just the third pitcher outside of the original rotation to start for the A’s, joining Joey Estes and Osvaldo Bido. With Wood joining Blackburn and Boyle on the sidelines, the only two starters to stay on schedule have been J.P. Sears and Ross Stripling.
The A’s still have not named a starter Friday for the start of a three-game road series against the Kansas City Royals. Stripling will start Saturday and Sears Sunday at Kansas City
The two remaining starters in the rotation have been adept at getting at least five innings in, with Stripling going five or more eight of nine times and Sears seven of nine. The deeper the starters go, the better chance the A’s have of getting set-up man Lucas Erceg and closer Mason Miller into the game.
The duo put up three scoreless innings against Houston Tuesday night, with Miller striking out five in two innings, but the A’s couldn’t push a run across and lost 2-1 in 10 innings.
When Wood, 33, does return, the hope is the rest could help him regain his form after being in an unfamiliar role of being a sometimes starter and sometimes reliever under Gabe Kapler with the Giants last season. Wood pitched five innings or more just four times in nine starts with an earned run average of 5.26.
Moreover, Wood’s strike zone command, a strength in his good years, has been a problem. He’s got a 62 percent strike rate, down from the 68 percent he had in 2022 as a Giant, and has thrown on average more than 19 pitches per inning. In 2021, Wood thrived by getting ahead of hitters and inducing early soft contact outs, throwing just 12.7 pitches per inning.
Harris, 27, was called up earlier this month and pitched 5 1/3 innings against Texas on May 7. He pitched 5 1/3 innings, giving up eight hits and four earned runs with a walk and five strikeouts. He pitched four scoreless innings upon his return to Las Vegas on Sunday and could be a starting candidate given the rotation injuries.
Harris and Bido are candidates to start with the rotation in flux, and the A’s are also keeping a close eye on right-hander Luis Medina, who is currently pitching in Las Vegas but not eligible to return until May 27 off the injured list with a right MCL sprain.
“You leave spring training and you feel you have depth, and we’re definitely tapping into all of the depth that we have,” Kotsay said.
NOTABLE
— Left-hander Ken Waldichuk (left UCL) was scheduled for surgery Wednesday afternoon but Kotsay had no updates on the extent of the procedure or a timeline on when/if Waldichuk could return this season.