On a day in which the A's had to postpone a game after a member of the team's traveling party in Houston tested positive for coronavirus, Oakland did reportedly get some good news.
Shortstop Marcus Semien's MRI revealed "no serious issue" after he was forced to miss the second game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Astros, The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported, citing league sources.
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Rosenthal reported that Semien simply is dealing with "soreness in his left side." Semien had started 276 consecutive games at shortstop for the A's prior to missing Saturday's second game. Manager Bob Melvin said as much after Saturday's doubleheader, indicating that Matt Chapman would slide over from third base to start in place of Semien.
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"He's got some left side soreness," Melvin said. "He felt it a little bit during the game. He went to warm up in the cage and was struggling with it. So we took him out. He's seeing a doctor. He's getting an MRI as we speak."
After a very strong 2019 season in which he finished third in AL MVP voting, Semien is slashing just .229/.285/.379 for the A's this season. Oakland doesn't have much depth at shortstop currently on the active roster, evidenced by having Chapman make his first start at the position since he was in college.
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It's unclear how long the A's season will be in limbo as a result of Sunday's positive test, but the A's at least will be able to give Semien a chance to focus on healing while isolated in Houston.