A's Ramon Laureano’s suspension reduced to four games after appeal

Athletics outfielder Ramon Laureano’s six-game suspension has been reduced to four games after he appealed the punishment earlier this week, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports (via Twitter). He’ll begin serving that four-game ban Friday.

Major League Baseball initially brought forth a six-game punishment after Laureano charged the Astros’ dugout during Sunday’s game. He’d been plunked twice that game and three times in the series, and Laureano was rather clearly goaded by Astros hitting coach Alex Cintron, who has been suspended 20 games as a result of his role in inciting the benches-clearing fracas.

The extra two games of Laureano are no small perk for the A’s, who’ve gotten out to a 13-6 start and currently lead the AL West by four games. Laureano has gotten out to a .262/.398/.462 start at the plate while playing excellent defense. The A’s can turn to either Mark Canha or Chad Pinder if they prefer to stick with options already on the 28-man roster. If they plan to dip in to their 60-man player pool, the A’s have Dustin Fowler, Luis Barrera and Skye Bolt as alternatives who are already on the 40-man roster.