A's place struggling starter on injured list

The A’s announced they’ve placed starter Joe Boyle on the 15-day injured list due to a lower back strain. Left-hander Hogan Harris was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas in a corresponding move.

Boyle, 24, won a spot in the season-opening rotation. The Notre Dame product has had a rough beginning to the 2024 campaign, however. He has only tallied 27 2/3 innings over seven starts. That’s in part because of yesterday’s injury, but it also reflects an inordinate number of deep counts. Boyle has issued an American League-high 23 walks, a near-18 percent rate. He has also uncorked four wild pitches and hit a batter.

Control has been the big question dating back to Boyle’s college days. The 6-foot-7 righty has huge stuff. His fastball sits in the 96-97 mph range on average, while his upper-80s slider is capable of missing plenty of bats. Boyle has racked up strikeouts in the minor leagues, but massive walk rates have led most prospect evaluators to project him to the bullpen.

The A’s have kept Boyle in the rotation to this point. He impressed over his first three MLB starts late last season. Acquired from the Reds in the Sam Moll deadline deal, he made his big league debut in September. Boyle punched out 15 and only issued five walks over 16 innings down the stretch.

He’ll need to wait at least a few weeks before he can try to recapture last fall’s form. The A’s are down to Paul Blackburn, JP Sears, Alex Wood and Ross Stripling in the rotation. They’re off on Thursday, so they could get by with a four-man rotation until the middle of next week. At that point, Oakland will need to go beyond their top five starters for the first time all season. Rule 5 pick Mitch Spence has pitched well in a multi-inning relief role and seems the likeliest candidate to move into the rotation after logging 4 2/3 innings behind Boyle yesterday. Harris has been working as a starter in Las Vegas, but he has been tagged for an earned run per inning over 21 frames in the Pacific Coast League.