Athletics' Semien to be Held Out of Swinging a Bat Drills as his Left Side Heals
Marcus Semien is in good enough shape to work out with the A’s Wednesday and Thursday, but it seems unlikely that the Oakland shortstop will be in the starting lineup when the A’s return to Major League Baseball action Friday against the San Diego Padres.
Semien had his streak of 275 consecutive games played end in the second game of a doubleheader Saturday in Houston. He played the first game, but felt some pain in his left side while attempting to get ready for the nightcap.
Before the game would be over, Semien was having an MRI to determine just what was happening. It turned out that it was mostly not a big deal, with general manager David Forst saying Monday the problem was ”not muscular, not soft tissue,” and not a stress fracture.
“He’s out here right now,” Melvin said Wednesday morning in a video conference call. “He’s throwing. Swinging the bat is going to be the biggest issue. If I had to handicap it right now, I would say he probably doesn’t play on Friday. And we’ll see where we go from there.”
Melvin said there has been no discussion of Semien going on the injured list “and the fact that he’s taking ground ball and he’s run some and throwing some.” But for Wednesday, and probably for a day or two more, there will be now batting practice or swinging in the cage for the veteran shortstop.
Semien has play with pain in his left side last year and this, but he’d been able to play through it, including in the week leading up to Saturday’s missed game.
“Marcus is a tough guy. If he says he can’t play, then this thing is bothering him,” Melvin said. “We just see how he progresses with medication and once (the medical crew) feels comfortable with him swinging a bat, and he’s comfortable doing that … but we’re not there yet.”
Right-handed batting Chad Pinder, pack from paternity leave, and lefty Vimael Machin likely will play in a platoon at shortstop while Semien is sidelined.
“Now hopefully we’re not doing this too long,” Melvin said. “But that’s the way we’re looking at it right now.”
Follow Athletics insider John Hickey on Twitter: @JHickey3
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