The Oakland A’s have shuffled the back end of their pitching staff over the last couple days, as the first half of the season draws to a close ahead of the All-Star break next week. On Friday, the team recalled starting pitcher Paul Blackburn, optioning out fellow starter Tanner Anderson to make room. Then on Saturday, they sent Blackburn back down to Triple-A Las Vegas and recalled reliever J.B. Wendelken.
The right-hander Wendelken has made 20 appearances for the A’s this year. Athletics Nation had high hopes for him as a breakout candidate and he hasn’t yet lived up to that hype, but he’s done enough to keep himself in the picture and get more looks in the majors.