Good news/bad news, Oakland fans. Left fielder Yoenis Cespedes expects to be in the lineup for Game 1 of the ALDS even if he has to “throw the ball left-handed,” but right-hander A.J. Griffin will miss the series with elbow tendinitis, reports Joe Stiglich of CSN California.
Athletics injury updates: Yoenis Cespedes set to play, A.J. Griffin out
Oakland’s star outfielder expects to play Friday even if it means throwing left-handed. Griffin will miss the ALDS.
Kirby Lee-US PRESSWIRE
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Cespedes, 28, missed the final few games of the regular season because of shoulder soreness, which forced him into DH duty for the week-plus before that. His status for the opener in Oakland is still listed as “probable,” but he reported feeling “a bit better” after batting practice Tuesday morning, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, so he should be “OK” for Friday.
Griffin, on the other hand, is not feeling any better. The 25-year-old right-hander has been left off the ALDS roster because the elbow tendinitis he’s been battling the last couple weeks has gotten worse. Manager Bob Melvin still believes that Griffin could be a rotation option if the A’s advance to the ALCS, per Stiglich, but not before then.
Oakland leaned on Griffin (and fellow youngster Jarrod Parker) in the regular season, getting a career-high 32 starts and 200 innings out of the sophomore right-hander. Griffin managed to stave off the injury bug until the final weeks of the year, much like he did last year in his inaugural campaign with the A’s.
In lieu of Griffin, the A’s will push ahead with an ALDS rotation of Bartolo Colon, Sonny Gray, Parker and Dan Straily.
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