Brett Anderson has been out of the majors since April 29 after spraining his ankle, but, with the season about a month from wrapping up, he's back in Oakland with the Athletics. To make room on the 25-man roster for the lefty, the A's optioned Tuesday night's starter, Tommy Milone, to Triple-A Sacramento.
Athletics activate Brett Anderson, option Tommy Milone
Oakland gets another arm back in time for the September playoff chase.
USA TODAY Sports
Anderson did not pitch well in April, and has just a combined 147 innings over the last three seasons. If he could return to form, though, and stay healthy for the rest of 2013, he would be a useful piece in an A's rotation that's seen its share of injuries and upheaval: he owns a career ERA+ of 111, well above-average. With only Jarrod Parker and Bartolo Colon featuring above-average ERA+ in 2013, and the A's fighting for a playoff spot, Anderson's presence over the last month could be significant.
The Athletics will wait and see how his foot reactions to pitching again before he commits to the rotation, though. According to the San Jose Mercury News, Anderson will pitch out of the bullpen and could be stretched out to start again if things go well.
As for Milone, he’s made 24 starts this year, but hasn’t performed well, posting a 4.24 ERA despite a pitcher’s park in a division mostly made up of them. He’s also not stuck in the minors for long, though, as rosters expand September 1, and the Triple-A season will be over shortly after, letting him come back to the bigs in fewer than the normally required 10 days.
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