A’s Place Setup Man Balfour on DL
By Editorial Staff
In a tragic story, Major League Baseball lost one of its best names last night.
Athletics pitcher Grant Balfour was placed on the 15 day disabled list Tuesday with a strained right oblique.
The right hander hasn’t pitched for Oakland since June 21st due to pain in his side. Balfour’s discomfort became an issue last week in Philadelphia when the reliever said he couldn’t push himself to full-go without feeling like he’d worsen the injury.
Balfour then underwent an MRI that showed the A’s enough to place their setup man on the DL.
"“Grant really isn’t a guy that can ease into things,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “He’s a full-out, max effort guy and a guy who is very important to us. We don’t want to go down that road where we can potentially reinjure this thing. Oblique injuries can be tricky things, so we want to make sure that when he comes back he’s fully healthy.”"
The 33 year old has been excellent out of the pen for the A’s this season, posting a 2.48 ERA to go along with his WHIP of 1.16. He’s struck out 35 in his 32.2 innings and hitters have only been able to muster a .198 batting average against him. The righty is 4th in the AL with 13 holds.
To replace Balfour on their roster, Oakland recalled right hander Trystan Magnuson.
For more on the Athletics, be sure to check out Swingin’ A’s.