Oakland A’s update: More injury woes for Brown, Blackburn struggles, Díaz returns, and reliever selected

MLB: A’s outfielder Seth Brown is returning to Oakland to be examined after he felt more oblique discomfort

OAKLAND – A’s outfielder Seth Brown is returning to Oakland to be examined after he felt more discomfort in his bothersome oblique during his first game of a rehab assignment in Triple-A Las Vegas.

Brown had to be removed from Saturday’s game after just two at-bats, as he was replaced by Tyler Soderstrom in the fourth inning of the Aviators’ home date with Albuquerque. Brown singled in his first at-bat as he started the game as the team’s designated hitter.

A Grade 2 left oblique injury caused Brown to land on the injured list last month.

A’s manager Mark Kotsay said Sunday that Brown was returning “to make sure that what he felt yesterday wasn’t anything more than maybe a stretch or if it’s more than that.”

Brown, who led the A’s in home runs (25) and RBIs (73) last season, first landed on the IL on April 10. In eight games this season, Brown was 6-for-30 (.200) with two walks and one home run.

Brent Rooker has become nearly an everyday player in Brown’s absence. Since April 11, Rooker has hit .333 with a Major League-leading 1.156 OPS, as he entered Sunday’s game against the Texas Rangers with 11 home runs and 29 RBI.

BLACKBURN PITCHES: Right-hander Paul Blackburn was roughed up Sunday in a rehab start for Las Vegas, allowing six hits, including two homers, and four earned runs in two innings.

Blackburn, who has not pitched for the A’s this season as he’s recovered from a right middle fingernail avulsion, threw 41 pitches. Blackburn’s last outing came on April 16 for Las Vegas, as he allowed four earned runs over 2 2/3 innings. Blackburn threw a side session on Thursday and now has a 9.39 ERA in four minor league appearances.

TRANSACTIONS: The A’s reinstated infielder Aledmys Díaz from the 10-day IL and selected right-handed reliever Garrett Acton from Triple-A. In related moves, Oakland optioned right-hander James Kaprielian and infielder Kevin Smith to Las Vegas.

Díaz had been on the IL since May 2, retroactive to April 30, with a strained left hamstring and started Sunday’s game at third base. Acton, making his MLB debut, was 5-1 with a save and a 4.01 ERA in 16 relief appearances for Las Vegas. Acton, 24, was signed by the A’s as a non-drafted free agent on June 29, 2020, after the pandemic shortened the draft that year to five rounds.

Acton said he went to the Aviators store to get his mom a team hat as a small gift for Mother’s Day. Triple-A manager Fran Riordan then asked Acton what he got her before he broke the news that “I’m going to need to get her an A’s one instead of a Vegas hat.”

Kaprielian started Saturday and allowed three runs on six hits and a walk in seven innings. Kotsay said, though, that there were no opportunities for Kaprielian to remain in the rotation over the next five or six days. Oakland hosts Arizona for a three-game set that starts Monday, has a day off Thursday, then starts a seven-game road trip Friday in Houston.