A's place Severino (oblique) on IL; No. 3 prospect Morales to make 1st start

BALTIMORE -- The Athletics’ rotation is about to get even more inexperienced.

A starting staff that already featured three rookies will now be without its most accomplished member in Luis Severino, who was placed on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to Wednesday) with a left oblique strain before Saturday night’s game against the Orioles at Camden Yards. Starting Sunday’s series finale in place of Severino will be A’s No. 3 prospect (No. 79 overall prospect, per MLB Pipeline) Luis Morales, who will be making his first Major League start and second career big league appearance.

According to A’s manager Mark Kotsay, Severino had been pitching through the oblique issue for quite some time. In the days following his most recent start on Tuesday against the Nationals, however, the 31-year-old right-hander felt a bit more discomfort than usual. On Friday, Severino was sent for an MRI, which revealed the oblique strain.

“It’s been something he’s kind of pitched with a little bit and managed very well,” Kotsay said. “But he just didn’t bounce back from his last start. Yesterday was the day we needed to make a decision. … We’re going to do more imaging when we get home on Monday. Right now, it’s a left oblique strain.”

The A’s are hopeful that Severino will pitch again this season, but losing him for any amount of time is certainly a tough blow. Entering Saturday, A’s starting pitchers had allowed one run or fewer in nine of the past 16 games, combining for a 2.63 ERA over that span.

Severino was a key part of that recent run of success. Overcoming a disappointing start to a season that began with him as the club’s Opening Day starter, Severino turned a corner over the past month. In his past five starts, he was 4-1 with a 2.93 ERA, 30 strikeouts and eight walks in 27 2/3 innings.

“He definitely found his groove post-All-Star break and the start before that,” Kotsay said. “He was throwing the ball really well and getting deep into games. We won most of his starts, and there was a lot of momentum behind that as a team. Now, we’ll have to move in a different direction.”

That direction is an ongoing youth movement, with Morales joining a rotation alongside fellow rookies Jacob Lopez, J.T. Ginn and Jack Perkins, who made his second Major League start on Saturday night and earned his first win after limiting Baltimore to three runs over six innings in a blowout 11-3 victory.

Morales, 22, quickly ascended through the A’s system after signing out of Cuba in 2023 thanks to his electric arm, which was on display during his big league debut on Aug. 1 at Sutter Health Park. Pitching in relief against the D-backs, the right-hander allowed one run in two innings and showed off a fastball that maxed out at 97.8 mph, along with a plus slider and improving changeup.

It’s unclear at this point whether Morales’ move to the rotation will be permanent. His 91 1/3 combined innings pitched this season between the Minors and the Majors are already the most he’s thrown in a season as a professional, which is part of the reason why he shifted from starting to a bullpen role with Triple-A Las Vegas on June 27.

Morales will be on a limited pitch count for Sunday’s start. After that, the A’s will determine how to move forward with that rotation slot.

“We’re going to play it by ear,” Kotsay said. “We’re going to watch [Morales]. He was starting early in the year and transitioned to a middle-relief guy with mostly three-inning outings. We’re going to evaluate him and see how he handles this opportunity now.”