Ross Stripling

He'll rejoin the Athletics' rotation on Friday night against the Angels. It's the second time in two days that the A's have bolstered their rotation with right-handers off the 60-day IL -- with Ross Stripling returning on Thursday. Hogan Harris was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas in a corresponding move on Friday.

With Ross Stripling and Paul Blackburn rejoining the Athletics' rotation on Thursday and Friday respectively, the A's suddenly faced a roster crunch. Harris, 27, had posted a 2.98 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and a 42/25 K/BB ratio over 54 1/3 innings in 11 appearances (nine starts) for the Athletics this season. He should get another opportunity at the big-league level before the season is through.

Stripling allowed six hits, walked two and struck out three in improving to 2-9 with a 6.02 ERA. The two-month-long IL stint has ruined his chances of racking up a 20-loss season, but he'll be a key figure in eating up innings for the A's the rest of the way.

Stripling will take the ball on Thursday evening against the division-rival Angles for his first outing back in the majors since late May. The 34-year-old right-hander holds a lackluster 5.82 ERA, 1.60 WHIP and 35/12 K/BB ratio across 55 2/3 innings (11 starts) this season in his Athletics debut. There's zero appeal here for streaming purposes at the moment, but he does have a nice matchup right out of the gate in his return.

No word yet on who that will bump from the A's rotation, but Mitch Spence had been scheduled to start on Thursday. Kotsay also noted that Paul Blackburn could rejoin the team's rotation during their series in Los Angeles as well, throwing the existing rotation into even further flux. Stay tuned.