A's Place OF Craig Gentry on the DL; Select OF Billy Burns from Midland

The Oakland A's placed outfielder Craig Gentry on the 15-day disabled list with a broken right hand, the club announced today. To take his spot on the roster, the A's have selected outfielder Billy Burns from Double-A Midland. A 40-man roster move will be announced later today.

Gentry was batting .264 with no home runs, 10 RBI and 18 stolen bases in 19 attempts in 80 games with the A's. He ranks third in the American League in stolen base percentage (94.7) and tied for ninth in steals, and has seven assists, which is tied for sixth among AL outfielders. Gentry was 4 for 29 (.138) over his last 12 games. This is his second stint on the DL this year as began the season on the DL with a lower back strain.

Burns was batting .250 with a home run and 23 RBI in 91 games with Midland and ranks fourth in all of Minor League Baseball with 51 stolen bases. He has been caught stealing just five times and has been successful in 91.1% of his attempts. The 24-year-old switch hitter has batted exclusively in the leadoff spot while appearing in 81 games in center field and six in left field. Burns was acquired by the A's from the Washington Nationals for Jerry Blevins on Dec. 11, 2013 and is a .295 (387 for 1313) career hitter in 357 minor league games over four professional seasons, none above Double-A. He has also has 193 walks for a .398 on-base percentage and has been successful in 176 of 198 stolen base attempts (88.9%). Burns will be making his Major League debut and will become the first rookie to appear in a game for the A's this year.