Sonny Gray will skip next start for Oakland Athletics
By Hayden Kane
The Oakland Athletics have seen their starting rotation deal with a number of injuries during the 2014 season, ranging from the serious (Jarrod Parker and A.J. Griffin requiring Tommy John surgery) to the silly (Drew Pomeranz punching a chair and breaking his hand). Even with that being the case, they will be able to skip Sonny Gray‘s next start in an effort to preserve his arm for the long run.
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Susan Slusser reports that the A’s will skip Gray’s next start as a way to get him extra rest because of the way their days off line up:
"As expected, the A’s announced Sunday that Sonny Gray will be skipped the next turn through the rotation, strictly because of the luxury afforded by two days off this week.Gray doesn’t yet have a full season in the majors, and he leads the team with 99 innings pitched. Plus, pushing him back to Saturday at Miami doesn’t cost him a start before the All-Star break; he’d still make four either way."
Gray, age 24, has been really good through 15 starts this season. He is 7-3 with a 2.91 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. The wonder of Oakland’s success in recent seasons has been their ability to tap into their depth and make up for major injuries. That facet of their 2014 season has been awfully impressive, something that is illustrated in this decision with Gray and a rotation that should be paper thin but somehow is not.
The A’s remain firmly atop the American League West and most Power Rankings thanks to their unreal run differential thus far. No team uses more guys to attain that success, and such is the case in the rotation as well.