A’s roster moves: Paul Blackburn activated, Hogan Harris optioned

Starting rotation getting healthier

The Athletics announced on Friday afternoon that they have activated right-handed starter Paul Blackburn off of the IL for tonight’s start:

Blackburn’s return comes after missing over two months with a stress reaction in his right foot. Before that he had been having a solid if unspectacular season. In eight starts the former All-Star was sporting a 4.11 ERA with his customary quality control. He won’t hit the heights of his All-Star campaign but he’s still plenty of valuable to an A’s club in need of arms to soak up innings. Can’t be relying on the rookies all season, after all.

And in that spirit is likely why the club picked Harris to send to Triple-A. The young left-hander is already approaching his career-high in innings pitched from last season. This certainly isn’t because of his performance as Harris has been a godsend to the starting five. The club just wants to control his innings total and taking a break around this time seems prudent, especially with the return of Blackburn and Ross Stripling yesterday. We’ll be seeing Harris again this year, that you can take to the bank.