A’s injury updates: Waldichuk and others progressing, Gelof shut down

Mostly good news on the injury update today

The Athletics have been dealing with their fair share of injuries in the early going. The club currently has ten players on the IL, with half of them on the 60-day IL (though Gott is done for the year). The club provided some updates on a bunch of their injured players Monday afternoon:

Firstly, the Waldichuk update is fantastic news. There was fear when the injury first cropped up that a long-term injury and recovery could be on the table. Instead it’s seeming like the best case scenario has happened and Waldichuk avoided a serious injury. With him about to throw to hitters and on the cusp of a rehab assignment, we could be seeing the left-hander sometime in May. Where he’ll fit into the pitching staff is to be determined but it wouldn’t be surprising to see them try easing him back into major league action in a bullpen or opener role.

On the position player side of things, third baseman JD Davis seems to be doing well but won’t be rejoining the team during the Pirates series. Based on Gallegos’ tweet the earliest we could expect Davis back would be this weekend when the team welcomes the Miami Marlins to the Coliseum. Even that might be a stretch, but at the very least Davis should be back with the squad by the time the home stand is over.

In less encouraging news, second baseman Zack Gelof is now completely shut down from all baseball activities. We knew it would be a long time until we saw him back on the field due to his oblique injury but it’s still not an encouraging development. It’s best if the club takes their time and make sure Gelof is fully healthy when he returns but these type of injuries can linger and it might be a while before we see him back on the field for the club.

The club also provided a bit more news on some other players:

One of the few players the club signed in free agency, the left-handed Alexander would be a nice boost to the bullpen, though they’ve been pulling their weight. Lefties Kyle Muller and TJ McFarland have pulled their weight so the club could elect to replace a righty reliever with Alexander when the time comes for him to come off the IL.

Right-hander Luis Medina meanwhile is scheduled to throw a bullpen and could soon get onto live batting practice. On the IL with sprained MCL, Medina was a candidate to open the season among the starting five pitchers but saw the injury bug take him out of the competition. You would have to think Medina is ticketed for a long stint in Triple-A to get back on track. He’ll need to show he’s fully healthy and back on track before the club brings him back to the big leagues.

More good news. Fellow off-season addition Miguel Andujar is set to begin running the bases and should be ready for a rehab assignment after that. Andujar, a former top prospect, was having a great spring training before the injury occurred (though that has been a consistent theme in his career so far). Once he gets healthy he should rejoin the club, possibly taking either Tyler Nevin or Lawrence Butler’s spot.

And finally, back on the pitching side Freddy Tarnok is set to get back to throwing this week in Arizona. On the IL dealing with hip problems, it’s a positive step for Tarnok. He’s already had surgery on that hip and his most recent health update wasn’t encouraging. This is the best case scenario for him and the club and fingers are crossed that he’ll emerge from his bullpen feeling fine.