The Oakland A’s are just three days into spring training and
already face their first notable injury. Right-hander Rich Harden
will be shut down for the next two weeks with stiffness in his
right side, manager Bob Geren announced Thursday.
PHOENIX
The Oakland A’s are just three days into spring training and already face their first notable injury.
Right-hander Rich Harden will be shut down for the next two weeks with stiffness in his right side, manager Bob Geren announced Thursday.
Harden, a fifth-starter candidate, felt pain underneath his right arm while throwing a bullpen session Tuesday. The training staff monitored his status for two days before the decision to shelve him.
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“We’ll wait until he’s pain-free,” Geren said. “It’s estimated that would be two weeks.”
Neither Geren nor Harden expressed concern that he would be sidelined long-term.
But the injury casts doubt on whether Harden, 29, can be ready for the start of the regular season. The A’s also view him as a potential reliever. He wouldn’t require as much time to rebuild arm strength in that role.
The A’s have high hopes for this season, but they’re getting an early—and unwelcome—reminder of the injury woes that have sabotaged them for the past four seasons.
And though team officials are confident with the overall depth they added during the offseason, Thursday’s development highlights the gamble they took by targeting players with spotty health histories.
Harden, who was drafted by the A’s and pitched for them from 2003-08, has been injury-prone throughout his career. After being released by the Texas Rangers in October, he re-signed with Oakland on a one-year, $1.5 million deal.
Harden said he spent time this winter with A’s pitching coach Ron Romanick—who also worked with him throughout his minor league career—to iron out mechanical flaws that led to bouts of wildness when he pitched for Texas.
“Mechanically, I was feeling like I’m where I need to be,” he said. “The ball was coming out real good.”
But physical ailments are nothing new for him. Long considered one of the major leagues’ most naturally gifted pitchers, he’s logged nine stints on the disabled list in his eight-year career.
“It’s frustrating,” he said of his current injury. “But I still feel like I can go out there and be healthy for the season after this.”
With Harden sidelined, the primary fifth-starter candidates become left-handers Josh Outman and Bobby Cramer, and right-handers Brandon McCarthy and Tyson Ross.
Geren, without prompting, also tossed right-hander Guillermo Moscoso’s name into the mix. Moscoso, acquired from Texas in December for right-hander Ryan Kelly, spent most of 2010 at Triple-A.
Some in the above-mentioned group raise health concerns along with Harden.
Outman hasn’t pitched in the majors since June 2009 because of ligament replacement surgery in his elbow. McCarthy, who signed a $1 million deal in December, has a history of shoulder problems. Ross was shut down in August and missed the rest of the season with a sprained elbow.
“I don’t think it changes anything,” A’s assistant general manager David Forst said of Harden’s injury. “We added depth in the offseason, and we still feel very comfortable with it.”
Notes: Forst said there are no plans to sign a backup shortstop in light of Adam Rosales’ foot injury, which might sideline him past opening day. Eric Sogard and Steve Tolleson are the current backups behind starter Cliff Pennington, who will miss early exhibition games while recovering from left shoulder surgery but should be ready for the April 1 opener against Seattle. …Geren says he has a “real good idea” of who his opening-day starter will be but isn’t ready to announce it. … Daric Barton, Mark Ellis and David DeJesus are among the projected position-player starters already in camp. Reporting deadline is Sunday.
— Story by Joe Stiglich, Contra Costa Times
