Athletics Designate Veteran Southpaw for Assignment

The team has been decimated by injuries this season and has just lost two key hitters in Tyler Soderstrom and Jacob Wilson.

Then, just days ago, it was announced that Brent Rooker would be out for the remainder of the season after undergoing knee surgery. Not only does it kill the team's offense, but they'll also be without one of their leaders.

Losing Matt Krook Hurts

The A's haven't really relied on Krook much over the last two seasons, but losing a veteran southpaw could really hurt the bullpen in the upcoming series.

As mentioned, the A's only have Harris and Suarez as the two lefties in the bullpen. Suarez has been deployed more as a long-relief pitcher than as a situational lefty like Harris is.

This is going to be an issue for a manager like Mark Kotsay, who relies heavily on the matchups. If the A's get into a couple of late-inning close games, they could need to deploy more than one lefty in each game.

They can't do that when Suarez is pitching long relief, and Harris simply cannot pitch on a daily basis. The team has CD Pelham in Triple-A, and he has proven he could join this big league staff soon if needed.

The A's Need Outside Help for Their Bullpen

It's unfortunate to say, but the A's absolutely need help in their bullpen, and it feels like they might not have their possible replacement in their organization right now.

Luckily for the A's, there's still a month until the trade deadline, and the team can get its paws on some bullpen help if it plans to bolster its staff before hopefully making a run in October baseball.

We've mentioned JoJo Romero as a possible fit for the A's. Romero pitches for the Cardinals, and they might look to ship off some of their rentals if they believe they won't be able to retain them past free agency.

Future Hall of Famer Aroldis Chapman could also be on the trade block this summer and could be a dark horse option for the A's if they plan to be a buyer this summer.

It will all come down to whether the A's plan to buy or sell this summer. If they want to compete, there are plenty of options on the table.