Henderson Alvarez threw a 30-pitch simulated game before Friday’s matchup with the royals and seemed to think he was just about ready to go out on an injury rehabilitation assignment, which would be his last step before moving into the Oakland rotation.
The A’s will wait on that, however, as they discuss internally if they want to have Alvarez, a 2014 National League All-Star with Miami, throw one more simulated game, perhaps getting up to 45 or 50 pitches, before he’s sent out. Oakland’s goal is to make sure he isn’t rushed and that once he’s in Oakland, he’s ready.