Yoenis Cespedes has missed the Oakland A’s past several games, and the club has characterized their slugger as day-to-day with a strained left hand. Cespedes was diagnosed with the strain to a muscle in the back of his left hand yesterday.
The A’s were initially worried that Cespedes was dealing with a broken or fractured bone in his hand, but X-rays and an MRI ruled out either. While Cespedes may have to miss a few additional games due to the strained hand, the rookie center fielder won’t have to spend an extended time on the disabled list.
That’s certainly good news for the A’s, as the offensively-challenged club need all of the production they can get. Cespedes currently leads the team in RBIs with 21, and he’s one of only three A’s players to have maintained an OPS north of .750.
Over his first 28 games and 106 at-bats with the A’s, Cespedes has hit at a clip of .245/.319/.434 with five home runs, five doubles and four stolen bases. While he does have the aforementioned team-leading 21 RBIs, Cespedes has also struck out more than any other A’s player, 29 times.
While Cespedes has been sidelined with his strained hand, the A’s have used offseason acquisition Josh Reddick in center field.
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