Chris Bassitt injury update: A’s ace gets encouraging news after taking liner to the face

We have a positive update on the health of injured Oakland Athletics pitcher Chris Bassitt.

The Oakland Athletics received encouraging news on the health of starting pitcher Chris Bassitt, who exited in Tuesday’s night game vs. the Chicago White Sox after taking line drive to the face.

Bassitt will have surgery in a few days after the swelling subsides to his injured face and remain in Chicago for a week or two. He suffered a fractured cheekbone and broke his upper jawbone with the line drive.

All other scans of Bassitt’s face came back clean after he was transported to Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. Bassitt’s vision is in good shape and the A’s will release more information as warranted. There is no timetable for Bassitt’s return to the mound.

Oakland Athletics receive great news on the health of pitcher Chris Bassitt

Though it is great Bassitt is expected to make a full recovery, the shame in it all was he was in the midst of a career year playing for one of the best teams in the American League.

The 32-year-old right-hander made his first trip to the All-Star Game back in July. He was 12-4 on the year in 25 starts with a 3.22 ERA and a 1.046 WHIP. He led the American League with 151 innings pitched.

Oakland trails the Houston Astros by 2.5 games in the AL West standings. If the season ended today, the A’s would face the Boston Red Sox in the AL Wild Card game, edging out the New York Yankees by percentage points for the last spot into the postseason field.

While Oakland should be a postseason team, the Athletics must adjust to life without Bassitt for the rest of the season.

Here is to a speedy recovery for Bassitt after what was a scary moment for everybody involved.