OAKLAND -- The A's are in need of a starter for Tuesday's home game with the Twins after scheduled starter Zach Neal was summoned for the ninth inning in Saturday's 12-3 victory over Detroit.
"We were looking at some other things to begin with," A's manager Bob Melvin said, "but I also didn't want to use anybody else in our bullpen today if I didn't have to.
"We'll figure it out, but it does change who we're going to start on Tuesday."
Neal was recalled from Triple-A Nashville last week to pitch in place of the injured Sonny Gray. He made the first start of his Major League career on Wednesday in Seattle, taking the loss after allowing seven runs on eight hits in four innings.
That happens to be the same day A's pitching prospect Daniel Mengden made his most recent start for Nashville, making him a strong candidate to join Oakland's rotation this week.
The right-handed Mengden, acquired from Houston in the Scott Kazmir trade last year and ranked as the A's No. 14 prospect according to MLBPipeline.com, is having a tremendous season, having allowed just five runs total with 56 strikeouts in 57 innings between Double-A and Triple-A.
The 23-year-old has made five starts with Nashville, going 2-0 with a 0.79 ERA.