OAKLAND –- First baseman Ike Davis has been dealing with left hip pain that necessitated a trip to the disabled list Wednesday.
He underwent an MRI but the A’s hadn’t received the results as of Wednesday morning. A combination of Mark Canha, Stephen Vogt and Jake Smolinski –- recalled to take Davis’ spot on the active roster –- will handle first base duties for the foreseeable future, manager Bob Melvin said.
[RELATED: Ike Davis hits DL; A's call up Jake Smolinski]
Davis hadn’t revealed his hip injury publicly before Wednesday, but he said he’s been dealing with it since around the time he strained his left quadriceps in mid-May, which put him on the shelf for a month.
“I wasn’t even playing a lot (lately), and the day that I did play it kept getting worse,” Davis said. “I have to try to figure out what’s going on. … It’s sore. Everything around it is starting to get sore. I can’t really turn on my back side very well, and that has a lot to do with hitting.”
Given Davis' hip has been bothering him for so long, it's worth wondering whether he should have been used in a mop-up pitching role in Sunday's 18-2 loss at Baltimore. Davis, a part-time pitcher in college, threw a scoreless eighth inning against the Orioles. He said Wednesday morning that he didn't think pitching aggravated his condition.
"No, it’s just consistently getting more sore."
Davis’ first season with the A’s has hardly been a success. He’s hitting .229 with three home runs and 20 RBI. About three years ago, he was having minor hip discomfort and he said he was diagnosed with a tear in his labrum. At that time, a doctor told him his best course of action was continuing to play until the pain became too great.
He wouldn’t speculate on how long he’d be out, but he wasn’t ruling out any course of treatement, including surgery.
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Third baseman Brett Lawrie (back) and left fielder Coco Crisp (ankle, hip, neck) remained out, and Melvin said it was prudent to give them extended rest through Thursday’s day off, with the hope they could return Friday against Tampa Bay.
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The A’s will rework the rotation after Thursday’s day off, bumping Sonny Gray ahead of Kendall Graveman. So Gray will pitch Saturday, to stay on regular rest, and Graveman will go Sunday.
