A's general manager David Forst expressed confidence that All-Star catcher Stephen Vogt will be ready for Opening Day despite Friday's arthroscopic surgery on his throwing elbow.
[NEWS: Vogt undergoes surgery on right elbow]
Vogt underwent a debridement of his elbow joint and had a bone chip removed. The A's list his recovery at four to six weeks, with Forst estimating Vogt will start playing in exhibitions by mid-March.
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It was something Vogt felt "after he started throwing after the first of the year," Forst said. "It was not to the extent that he couldn't do his offseason work. He was throwing out to 200 feet. Because it was nagging him, we did an MRI and the bone chip showed up. We thought if it was something we could do and not impact the season, go ahead and do it. He wanted to get it taken care of."
Still, the news came out of the blue, as Vogt mentioned nothing to reporters about any elbow trouble Sunday, when he was asked at FanFest how he was doing physically. He said only that he enjoyed finally having what he called a normal offseason.
Last spring, Vogt was coming back from foot surgery that he had in October 2014.
Forst was asked if it was troubling to have a key player undergo surgery with spring training just more than three weeks away.
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"It's really not a big deal," he said.
Josh Phegley, who platooned with Vogt last season, becomes the primary catcher until he returns. The A's have also invited four non-roster catchers to camp, including Carson Blair, who saw some playing time as a September call-up last fall. Highly touted prospect Jacob Nottingham also will be in camp, though he finished last season at Single-A and isn't big league ready yet.