Oakland A's starter Joe Boyle was pulled after one inning during Sunday's contest due to a lower back strain, and after an MRI on Monday, he has been placed on the IL. Boyle is 2-5 with a 7.16 ERA in seven starts this season.
To take his place on the active roster, the A's have called up left-hander Hogan Harris, who debuted with the team last season and was notably the starter on the mound for the "Reverse Boycott" game last June. This season has been rough for Harris thus far in Triple-A. He holds a 9.00 ERA at the time of the promotion, and while ERA is tough to judge in the hitter-friendly PCL after a handful of starts, he has also given up 21 hits and 20 walks in his 21 innings on the mound this year. His WHIP is nearly 2.00.
Earlier today we speculated that one way or another, Osvaldo Bido would be getting the call up to the big leagues this week, either with the Boyle injury, or with Wednesday's doubleheader. Martín Gallegos confirmed this Monday afternoon.
Now the question becomes what the role for Harris will end up being for the A's. He last pitched on May 1, so he would technically be ready to go tonight. Mark Kotsay told reporters before Monday's game that Harris will be the long-man out of the bullpen while he's here.
This makes the most sense for the A's heading into playing four games against Texas in three days. With an extra long reliever ready to go just in case, they can slide either Kyle Muller or Mitch Spence into the rotation, with both arms being better options that Harris as a starter right now, and each also presenting an upgrade over Boyle's early-season performance.
Muller is fairly fresh, and will likely be called upon during the Rangers series. Spence took over for Boyle on Sunday, going 4 2/3 innings, giving up six hits, four earned, walking one and striking out five. With him already being on turn with where Boyle was, it will likely be him taking the ball in Seattle when that spot needs to be filled.
More must-reads: