The A’s announced that right-hander Ross Stripling has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to a strained right elbow. Right-hander Brandon Bielak has also been designated for assignment, opening up a 40-man roster spot for Jack O’Loughlin, whose promotion was reported earlier today. In addition to selecting O’Loughlin’s contract from Triple-A, the Athletics also called up righty Tyler Ferguson from Triple-A to take the other 26-man roster spot.
Stripling allowed six runs over 3 2/3 innings in yesterday’s 6-3 loss to the Astros. Even if it is fair to assume that the elbow strain impacted Stripling’s performance in some fashion, it was another in a string of tough outings for the veteran, as he has a 5.82 ERA across 55 2/3 innings and 11 starts for Oakland. His SIERA is a somewhat more palatable 4.66 and Stripling hasn’t enjoyed any batted-ball (.359 BABIP) or strand rate (56.4%) luck, plus his .328 xwOBA is well below his .364 wOBA. The righty’s 4.8% walk rate has been excellent and he has done a very good job of limiting hard contact, though his 13.9% strikeout rate ranks in only the seventh percentile among all pitchers.
Even if the results have been spotting, Stripling has been able to take the ball every fifth day, which is the kind of stability the A’s were hoping to receive when they acquired him in an offseason trade with the Giants. It was widely expected that the Athletics would also be shopping Stripling in advance of the trade deadline, yet this injury now casts doubt on that scenario, and potentially Stripling’s availability for the remainder of the season. More will be known about the severity of the elbow sprain soon, though it is worth noting that Stripling underwent a Tommy John surgery back in 2014 when he was pitching in the Dodgers’ farm system.
The more immediate impact of Stripling’s injury is that Oakland is now down yet another starting pitcher. Paul Blackburn (stress reaction in his right foot), Alex Wood (rotator cuff tendonitis), and Joe Boyle (lower back strain) are already all on the 15-day IL, meaning that of the five A’s pitchers who have made the most starts in 2024, JP Sears is the only fit hurler of the group. O’Loughlin has been a regular starter at Triple-A Las Vegas and will join Sears, Mitch Spence, Joey Estes, and Aaron Brooks in the makeshift rotation. The Athletics have off-days on each of the next two Mondays to allow for some flexibility in figuring out the…
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