A's Place Luis Severino on the IL

The Athletics have placed right-hander Luis Severino on the 15-day IL with a left oblique strain, retroactive to August 6. To take his spot on the roster, left-hander Hogan Harris has been recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas.

While Harris is taking Severino's spot on the roster, it has not been announced whether or not that means he's joining the A's rotation as well. Severino's spot in the rotation comes up on Sunday in Baltimore. The other option they could roll with would be to move Harris into Osvaldo Bido's role in the bullpen, and get Bido another opportunity starting games.

Bido began the year in the rotation and made nine starts while holding a 5.82 ERA before being optioned to Vegas, though he's pitched better in limited opportunities out of the bullpen. The one concern with going that direction would be that Bido hasn't topped 49 pitches in an outing in nearly a month. But if he's asked to start, the A's would feel confident in his ability to give them 65+.

Harris, 28, began the season in the A's bullpen and has a 4.35 ERA across 41 1/3 innings of work spanning 30 appearances. He has been working in relief in the minors as well, which would seem to indicate that he's headed for the bullpen--not the rotation--in his return to the A's roster. He has a 4.30 ERA in 14 2/3 innings in the minors this season.

Aside from the obvious reason that Bido has been a starter and Harris has been a reliever this season, adding Harris to the rotation would also give the A's three straight left-handed starters in the rotation, joining Jeffrey Springs and Jacob Lopez in the mix. While this isn't unheard of, it's not exactly common.

Severino was the A’s Opening Day starter and has gone 6-11 with a 4.82 ERA in 24 starts, including 103 strikeouts and 44 walks in 136 1/3 innings pitched. In his last five starts he is 4-1 with a 2.93 ERA, 30 strikeouts, and eight walks in 27 2/3 innings of work after starting the season 2-10 with a 5.30 ERA in his first 19 starts spanning 108 2/3 innings.

Since the All Star break, Severino has gone 4-0 with a 3.13 ERA after utilizing his fastball a bit more than he'd been in the first half of the season. There has been no timetable given for Severino's return at this time, but obliques can be tricky and take a little while to fully recover from.

While being without the ace of the staff for any length of time isn't ideal for the club as they look to collect some wins in the second half and build their confidence up for 2026, this does also provide the club with an opportunity to slot in an arm or two they feel may be in competition for a rotation spot next season.