Manaea very close to return after strong start

August 14th, 2019

SAN FRANCISCO -- appears to be on the brink of finally making his 2019 A's debut.

After minor setbacks that stalled his rehab assignment over the past month, Manaea checked off all the boxes during Tuesday's start with Triple-A Las Vegas. With a fastball that sat around 88-90 mph, the left-hander allowed one run on four hits and two walks while racking up 10 strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings in what A's manager Bob Melvin dubbed as Manaea's "best outing" yet.

The outing was Manaea's sixth in the Minors and first since he was temporarily shut down on Aug. 4 with side soreness.

"I heard it was great," Melvin said before Tuesday's game against the Giants. "Coming off the side thing, it was good to see. We'll discuss where we go next, but a very encouraging outing."

With Manaea's arm seemingly built up to the point the A's were looking to get him to -- he threw 82 pitches on Tuesday -- there is a real possibility that his next start could come in Oakland. That would present quite a dilemma in the current A's rotation that already features five solid starters, but that decision likely won't come for at least a few more days.

"I think based on the fact he had the side thing, the potential for one more start is there," Melvin said. "We have to figure out where we are with him. It was encouraging to see."

Laureano resumes baseball activity

has been taking swings and playing catch to keep his arm in shape, but the outfielder is still not running, the main issue that led to his placement on the 10-day injured list on July 31 with a stress reaction in his right shin. The original timetable for a return to games was four weeks from the date of his IL placement, but the A's won't have a true idea on when he might return until he takes part in running activities.

"He's doing everything but running," Melvin said. "The running portion will tell the tale of where he's at. We're not there yet. There was a period of time we were going to shut him down from that and we're still in that."