Oakland A’s injury updates: Chapman on the mend

The A’s injury woes are always worthy of a full post.

With the A’s hot as any team in the league, it’s easy to forget they’re injured across the board. In fact, the team has eight guys on the DL right now, six of whom are starting pitchers. Neat!

We’re starting to see some movement with some of those players, and the A’s are close to reinforcing the current crew with some important regulars.

Matt Chapman

Per John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle, Matt Chapman took his first swings since suffering a right thumb contusion, aided by a cortisone shot he received earlier this week. Chapman is slated to take batting practice Sunday, and should that go well, could return as early as Tuesday.

The A’s have killed it in Chapman’s absence, but there’s no doubt he’d be a big boost for the team. He’s likely the A’s best overall position player, and while Franklin Barreto has shown flashes of putting it all together, he’s far from Chapman’s level right now.

Andrew Triggs

The righty was shut down in the middle of his rehab assignment due to right tingling in his throwing arm last week, per Susan Slusser of the Chronicle.

It goes without saying that the A’s could definitely use some starting pitching depth. Triggs has only been a starter since arriving in Oakland last year, and his stamina will always be a question. The A’s will undoubtedly be cautious in his rehab assignment, and the timetable for his return is still up in the air.

Brett Anderson and Trevor Cahill

It just feels right to group those two together, whether when thinking of the painful Bob Geren days or when doing an injury link dump.

Also per Slusser, both players took a step towards their return this week. Cahill threw 20 pitches off a mound while Anderson threw 3.2 innings for the Nashville sounds. The former seems like a much better bet to contribute than the latter but again, depth. The A’s just need arms.

Boog Powell

I’m not sure how Powell fits on the roster at this exact moment with Dustin Fowler entrenched in center and Mark Canha still raking. Perhaps the A’s could move Matt Joyce with a healthy Powell in play, but more likely Powell will remain in the minor leagues.

Anyway, those two sentences are kind of dumb when you consider Powell hasn’t played since June 21st and is presumably a ways away from returning. Not a good sign, but hopefully Powell will be able to get back to full health soon.

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The A’s have been playing well and could still get better with the health of some important players. Get better, Chappie!