OAKLAND -- You’ll have to excuse Homer Bailey for not being completely up to speed on his new ballclub, it’s been a wild 48 hours.

What started out as a normal day on Sunday turned into one that would flip Bailey’s world upside down when he was informed by Royals manager Ned Yost he’d been traded to the A’s just moments before his scheduled start that afternoon. The right-hander went from worrying about the Tigers' lineup to figuring out what to bring with him on his new journey.

• 5 things to know about Royals-A's Bailey deal

Bailey landed in Oakland around 1:50 p.m. on Tuesday and was immediately shuttled over to the Coliseum. He was situated with a locker inside the home clubhouse that was filled with brand new, barely untouched A’s gear as he had only been in the building for about half an hour before being summoned to the dugout for his introduction to reporters as a member of the club.

“I didn’t realize the shoes were this white,” Bailey said with a laugh before the game against the Mariners. “I just landed. I haven’t really gotten to take in a whole lot other than trying to get equipment and all that together.”

There’s been little time to rest for Bailey, but perhaps the adrenaline boost is enough to keep him going. He leaves a Royals team that is in the middle of a rebuild and already dealing many of its pieces as the July 31 Trade Deadline approaches to an Oakland team that entered Tuesday tied for the second American League Wild Card spot and is looking to chase down the Astros, 5 1/2 games back of first in the AL West.

For Bailey, it’s an exciting chance to contend for the postseason, something he hasn’t experienced since 2012 with the Reds.

“To go from a team that is very young and inexperienced to come to something like this is definitely an energy boost,” Bailey said. “It definitely brings some energy that I haven’t been a part of in a few years.”

Bailey will get his first chance to contribute on Wednesday when he is slated to take the mound against the Mariners for his first club debut, and he’s been pitching some of the best baseball of his career. He arrived to the A’s having compiled a 3.35 ERA over his last eight starts with the Royals. The numbers are a far cry from last season with the Reds when he struggled coming off elbow surgery and finished with a 6.09 ERA.

What’s been the difference? Bailey attributes a lot of his recent success to better preparation and game-planning.

“I’m just getting luckier maybe,” Bailey said. “I don’t know.”

Bailey had never met any of the current players or coaches on the team, but he’s not coming into the situation completely blind. Bryan Price, former Reds pitching coach and college teammate of A’s manager Bob Melvin at UC Berkeley, exchanged texts with his former pitcher when he found out about the trade and gave “great reviews” about the A’s skipper.

The relationship worked both ways, with Melvin also able to reach out to Price for a breakdown of the type of player he is getting.

“Bryan said he buried me to him,” Melvin joked. “They got pretty close [in Cincinnati] and to understand what the player is all about and know how to talk to him is a nice resource to have.”

Bailey will be on 12 days of rest, having last pitched July 4. He was not allowed to throw a bullpen session on Monday in Kansas City for fear of potential injury before his impending arrival to Oakland.

Melvin said he'll keep a close watch on Bailey’s pitch count and play it by ear when deciding how long to leave him out there in his first start.

“We’ll feel it out,” Melvin said. “We’ll talk about how we do things here and probably won’t throw much at him the first time out. We’ll take a look at pitch counts considering how long he’s been off and go from there.”

Manaea to increase workload

Sean Manaea’s next rehab outing will come on Thursday with Class A Advanced Stockton, where he’ll increase his pitch count to 65 as he progresses from left shoulder surgery. The left-hander was hit around a bit in his outing for Stockton on Saturday, allowing five runs over 2 1/3 innings, but Manaea was not concerned about the final line. For him, it’s about how his arm feels. He said he felt no pain the next day and has been pleased with his velocity, now sitting around 90 mph with his fastball.

Manaea will head to Triple-A Las Vegas after Thursday’s start, where he expects to have a couple of outings and make his 2019 regular-season debut shortly after if all remains on track.

“I really want to come back up here and help the team out any way I can,” Manaea said. “I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but at the same time, I just have to keep focused and try not to rush this.”

Piscotty runs the bases

Stephen Piscotty felt good after running the bases on Tuesday as he progresses from a right knee sprain that landed him on the injured list June 30. He’s expected to join the club on the back end of their upcoming road trip in Houston next week and could begin a Minor League rehab assignment at some point next weekend.