OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -Just when Rich Harden was hoping for a healthy, full season, he got hurt again.
The Oakland Athletics placed their ace right-hander on the 15-day disabled list Monday with a strained right shoulder and also put center fielder Milton Bradley on the DL.
The 25-year-old Harden went 4-0 with a 4.24 ERA in only nine starts last season because of two stints on the disabled list with a lower back and elbow injury.
The A’s said Sunday that Harden, who threw a bullpen session before the game, would not make his scheduled start Tuesday at home against Baltimore. He left his outing April 15 against the New York Yankees in the seventh inning with a stiff throwing shoulder, but manager Bob Geren had said Harden probably wouldn’t need to go on the DL.
“It’s not how we drew it up in December,” assistant general manager David Forst said. “We probably could have avoided it with Rich, but in order to be fair to Rich let’s give him a couple of extra days. He’s eligible to come off May 1, so as soon as Rich says he’s ready.”
Bradley left Sunday’s game in the sixth inning with a strained left hamstring, the same injury that caused him to miss six games from April 11-18. This is his ninth career stint on the DL and his third in two seasons with the A’s. Bradley missed 59 games due to injury last year, 85 in 2005 and 61 in 2003. He was batting .263 with a home run and three RBI in 11 games this year.
Oakland purchased the contract of outfielder Danny Putnam from Double-A Midland and left-hander Dallas Braden from Triple-A Sacramento, transferring injured outfielder Mark Kotsay – he is recovering from lower back surgery – to the 60-day DL and releasing right-hander Scott Dunn.
Harden’s move is retroactive to April 16. He also spent two stints on the DL in 2005.
Bradley, who had been playing center field in Kotsay’s absence, is a big bat out of the lineup. He went 9-for-18 with two home runs, two doubles, five RBIs and four runs scored during Oakland’s four-game sweep by the Detroit Tigers in the AL championship series in October.
Nick Swisher was primarily in center field when Bradley was sitting out earlier this month and will likely stay there.
Bradley played in 96 games last season and 75 the previous year with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He also sat out the final six weeks in 2003 for Cleveland with a bruised lower back.
In 2006, Bradley missed 59 games during two stints on the disabled list – first from April 27 to June 5 with a sprained right knee and strained muscle in his right side, then again June 15 to July 13 with a strained left shoulder.
He batted .276 with 14 home runs and 52 RBIs, then came up big in the ALCS after managing only one hit – albeit a homer – in the A’s three-game division series sweep of Minnesota.
“I don’t think there’s any good time to have players of that caliber go down,” Forst said. “We’ll continue to plug guys in. To some extent, it’s an opportunity to give young guys a shot.”
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