The A’s have placed starting DH Frank Thomas on the 15-day disabled list with a strained quad. This injury will likely end the Big Hurt’s season. Thomas has played in 71 games for the Blue Jays and A’s this season and he is 59 for 246 (.240 avg, .723 OPS) with 27 runs scored, 8 homers and 30 RBIs. The A’s have recalled 22-year old righty swinging outfielder Aaron Cunningham from AAA to replace Thomas on the active roster for the A’s. Cunningham played in 107 games in AA+AAA ball this season and he was 139 for 423 (.329 avg, .932 OPS) with 86 runs scored, 17 homers, 66 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. Cunningham was the #7 prospect in the Diamondbacks’ minor league system coming into this season and he came to the A’s in the Dan Haren trade over the winter. Cunningham made his major league debut on Sunday and it was a good one as he was 2 for 4 with a double and 2 RBIs. He will likely get a lot of playing time in September for the A’s.

UPDATE:  Thomas is officially done for the season.  He played in 55 games for the A’s this season and he was 49 for 186 (.263 avg, .751 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 5 homers and 19 RBIs.  The A’s have activated DH Mike Sweeney from the D.L. and he will likely get some at bats against lefty starting pitching.  Sweeney has played in 41 games this season for the A’s and he is 35 for 125 (.280 avg, .710 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 2 homers and 12 RBIs.  I would be very surprised if either of these broken down players are on the A’s in 2009.

The A’s have demoted outfielder Carlos Gonzalez to AAA to try to get him out of his recent funk at the plate. Gonzalez has played in 77 games for the A’s this season and he is 68 for 283 (.240 avg, .635 OPS) with 27 runs scored, 4 homers, 23 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. He has also whiffed 76 times for the A’s which is too many for the kind of hitter that Gonzalez is. The A’s have activated Ryan Sweeney off of the D.L. to replace Gonzalez on the roster. Sweeney has played in 89 games for the A’s this season and he is 85 for 292 (.291 avg, .722 OPS) with 38 runs scored, 4 homers, 37 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. The A’s really like Sweeney but he needs to quit breaking down physically if he’s going to be a big part of the future for the A’s.

The Oakland A’s have placed righty starting pitcher Sean Gallagher on the 15-day disabled list with shoulder fatigue. Gallagher was the main piece of the Rich Harden trade and he has not looked too good for the A’s. He has started 7 games for the A’s this season and he was 1-2 with a 6.55 ERA and a 1.98 WHIP. Gallagher had trouble with his control as he walked 26 batters in only 34.1 innings for the A’s this season. Lefty Dana Eveland has been recalled from AAA ball to replace Gallagher in the starting rotation. Eveland started 22 games earlier this season for the A’s and he was 7-8 with a 4.46 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP. Eveland also had a huge control problem with the A’s this season as he has walked 64 batters in only 125 innings. The A’s really hope that Eveland’s say in AAA has taught him to trust his stuff and throw strikes as he started 3 games there and was 3-0 with a 2.57 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. Eveland whiffed 21 batters while walking only 4 in 21 innings in AAA ball.

The Oakland A’s have placed All-Star starting pitcher Justin Duchscherer on the 15-day disabled list with a hip injury. This will really send the Oakland A’s further down into the toilet as Duchscherer has been the best pitcher on the A’s pitching staff this season. He has started 22 games for the A’s this season and he is 10-8 with a 2.54 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. The A’s will likely move lefty Dan Meyer into the starting rotation to replace Duchscherer. Meyer has pitched in 6 games (1 start) for the A’s this season and he is 0-1 with a 5.52 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP.

The Oakland A’s have designated 1B Wes Bankston for assignment. Bankston played in 17 games for the A’s this season and he was 12 for 59 (.203 avg, .543 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 1 homer and 4 RBIs. This is a surprising move as Daric Barton has been pretty awful at 1B this season for the A’s. Barton has played in 105 games for the A’s this season and he is 70 for 331 (.211 avg, .616 OPS) with 39 runs scored, 5 homers and 32 RBIs. Bankston was designated for assignment to make room on the roster for Kirk Saarloos who the A’s called up to work in long relief. All he did tonight was work 3.2 shutout innings in long relief to win the game. Saarloos has pitched in 3 games (0 starts) now for the A’s and he is 1-0 with a 1.59 ERA and a 0.79 WHIP. Saarloos also has pitched in 22 games (all starts) in AAA-ball this season and he was 9-4 with a 4.22 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP.