Athletics place Paul Blackburn on IL

The Athletics announced that right-hander Paul Blackburn has been placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to May 11, with a stress reaction of the fifth metatarsal of his right foot. Left-hander Easton Lucas was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas in a corresponding move.

It’s unclear when Blackburn suffered his injury, but his results have gradually worsened as the season has gone along. His first three starts of the season were scoreless but he allowed 21 earned runs over his five most recent outings. Against the Mariners on Friday, he went four-plus innings with seven earned runs allowed.

In the short term, the news is a setback for the A’s. When healthy, he has been one of the pillars of their organization in recent years. As other pitchers have come and gone and many have floundered, he posted a 4.35 ERA in 2022 and 2023. This year, his hot start and subsequent struggles have led to a 4.11 ERA.

Of course, the “when healthy” qualifier is an important one for Blackburn. He was limited to 21 starts in 2022 and 20 last year, missing time due to issues with the middle finger of his pitching hand. The 111 1/3 innings he threw in 2021 are still his career-high at the big league level. Now, he’s in for yet another injury absence, though it’s not known how long the A’s expect that to be.

The A’s already have Ken Waldichuk, Freddy Tarnok and Luis Medina on the 60-day IL, with Joe Boyle on the 15-day IL. Blackburn is now joining them and perhaps Alex Wood as well. 

Manager Mark Kotsay told Martin Gallegos of MLB.com that Wood has been pitching through a shoulder injury that seemed to get worse yesterday. 

“Alex has been grinding,” Kotsay said. “He hasn’t felt great. He gave us everything he had.” Kotsay seemed to suggest that an IL stint could be coming by saying Sunday night: “We’ll have more news tomorrow.”

If Wood follows Blackburn to the IL, the rotation would be left with JP Sears, Ross Stripling and Joey Estes. Sears and Stripling have been effective enough. Sears has a 4.20 ERA on the year and Stripling is at 5.14, though with a .356 batting average on balls in play and a 57.9 percent strand rate. 

Stripling’s 3.71 FIP and 4.50 SIERA suggest he could be better going forward with a bit more help from the baseball gods. Estes was just recalled and his one start was decent, allowing one earned run in five innings, though he had a 6.04 ERA in Triple-A before getting called up.

The club will need to figure out how to fill a rotation spot, perhaps two. Mitch Spence has been throwing multi-inning stints out of the bullpen and has a 3.65 ERA, so he could perhaps be an option. 

Hogan Harris or Osvaldo Bido was recently up to make spot starts and could perhaps do so again. Brady Basso and Royber Salinas are on the 40-man roster, though neither player has yet reached the majors and each has made just one Triple-A start.

In the longer term, it’s possible the injury could impact Blackburn as a midseason trade candidate. He is making $3.45M this year and is slated for one more arbitration season before he becomes a free agent after 2025.

Though the A’s are performing a bit better than expected this year at 19-23, they are still most likely going to be in a seller position at the upcoming deadline.

Blackburn’s results have been more passable than outstanding, but all teams need pitching at the deadline and non-rental starters tend to be the most attractive assets in the summer market. 

The righty therefore is one of the most straightforward trade candidates this year, given his status and that of the team he plays for. 

The extent of his injury will therefore be of interest not just to the A’s but to many other clubs around the league as the summer pitching market develops.