Oakland Athletics Injury Updates: Yoenis Cespedes

There are two bits of good news coming from the Oakland Athletics on the injury front, and both involve impending DL removals for two of the team’s best players. Rookie Yoenis Cespedes is expected to come back from the DL on Friday, but the 26-year-old CF will likely switch spots with Coco Crisp and play left field going forward in a beneficial move for the A’s.

The A’s told Cespedes to refrain from holding the bat on the knob in order to put him at a lower risk for injury. The problem is that it will hurt Cespedes’s power output, which as definitely been his main source of value this season and the loss in extra power from holding the bat in that position could make his numbers look more average. It will definitely ease pressure on his hand, but it might hurt his overall production. For a great piece on this subject, check out what Eno Sarris wrote up on FanGraphs. It’s awesome.

A’s ace Brandon McCarthy emerged last season with a great two-seamer and was one of the best pitchers in the American League last year. McCarthy is on track to come back on Saturday, and this will definitely help out the Athletics overall and will greatly aid their pitching. McCarthy has a 2.95 ERA with 40 strikeouts this season, and the 28-year-old breakout star in 2011 will likely be activated in time for the Kansas City Royals game on the day he is scheduled to be activated. McCarthy threw a good bullpen session without issues.

One more thing of note. Third baseman Brandon Inge will not be playing against the Minnesota Twins today, and backup Josh Donaldson will be playing in his place at third. This isn’t due to an injury- it is a scheduled day off- but it felt fitting to leave this nugget at the end of the post. Donaldson, by the way, will be in the number five hole.

Check out Swingin’ A’s for more on the Oakland Athletics.