Zobrist hopes to return to A's by late May

OAKLAND -- Less than 24 hours after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, Ben Zobrist was walking around the A's clubhouse without a noticeable limp. In fact, the veteran infielder/outfielder even spent 20 minutes on an exercise bike on Wednesday afternoon.

Team orthopedist Jon Dickinson gave Zobrist a glowing report following Tuesday's procedure in San Francisco.

"He said it was a good thing we did the procedure," Zobrist said. "When he got in there, he could see there was something that needed to be cleaned and trimmed. He trimmed that out, and it went smooth. Obviously, the fact that the knee has reacted really well with no swelling, it's a really good sign. Very little swelling at this point. He said probably best-case scenario."

Zobrist was injured sliding into a base at Kansas City on April 19 and tried to played through the pain. Cortisone shots and a stint as the team's designated hitter didn't do much to ease his pain, though, and he landed on the 15-day disabled list. Zobrist said he and the A's aren't ruling out a late-May return.

"The whole week and a few days until I got the surgery, it was hard," Zobrist said. "I knew that it wasn't right, but I was still trying to gut it out. Now I feel like I'm on the other side of the hill."

Without Zobrist to serve as the team's primary starting second baseman, A's manager Bob Melvin revealed that third baseman Brett Lawrie will be seeing some time at second in the the near future. Whenever shortstop Marcus Semien is scheduled for a day off, Melvin said he plans on moving Lawrie to second and Eric Sogard to short. Sogard has been getting regular starts at second since Zobrist's injury.

Worth noting

• Right-hander Jarrod Parker, who is working his way back from May 2014 Tommy John surgery, finished five innings with 71 pitches Tuesday for Class A Advanced Stockton, striking out seven while walking none. Parker said his next step will be to throw for Triple-A Nashville at Round Rock later this week with a 75-pitch limit.

• A's outfielder Coco Crisp played catch on Wednesday from 105 feet and is scheduled to take batting practice with Stockton on Friday and Saturday before figuring out his next step. Crisp had surgery to remove bone chips in his elbow on April 3.

• Starting pitcher A.J. Griffin (Tommy John surgery) threw a 38-pitch bullpen session in front of the A's brass and medical staff on Wednesday without any setbacks. A's head trainer Nick Paparesta said the right-hander will throw in more simulated games at extended spring training in Arizona before going on a rehab assignment.

• Paparesta said infielder Tyler Ladendorf, who played four games with Oakland this year, underwent surgery Tuesday to repair an ankle he injured badly while running the bases. He is expected to be out for several months.

• First baseman Nate Freiman (back) batted four times and ran the bases in an extended spring training game on Tuesday, according to Paparesta. Freiman is expected to go on a rehab assignment next week.