Starting or relieving? Parker just wants to pitch

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Having undergone two Tommy John surgeries on his right elbow, plus a third procedure after he fractured the same elbow in May, A’s right-hander Jarrod Parker is attempting a comeback for which there is no precedent for a major league pitcher.

Not that he spends much time fretting about it. Parker’s spirits are high these days as he tries to work his way back to Oakland’s pitching staff after missing two full seasons due to injuries.

After he and the team consulted with elbow specialist Dr. James Andrews, it was decided Parker should extend a throwing program that will now wrap later this month. He won’t get on a mound, but he’s throwing out to 120 feet before he winds things down for the winter.

“Everything feels great, and it’s been a long time coming for that feel,” Parker said Tuesday.

If Parker, who turns 27 on Nov. 24, does prove healthy during spring training, the decision is whether he should be brought back as a starter or a reliever. Starting is what he’s done his whole career, but there’s a school of thought that says relieving might be less of a strain on his elbow.

Parker says those big-picture discussions haven’t taken place yet with team officials.

“I don’t think either side needs an answer like that at this point,” he said. “Coming into spring, it’s going to be obvious how I’m handling the workload.”

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A’s executive vice president of baseball operations Billy Beane has talked in hopeful terms about Parker making a return to the rotation, where he went 25-16 with a 3.73 ERA for the A’s from 2012-13. Regardless of what role he might fit into, Parker said it’s a boost to hear Beane talk optimistically about him in terms of contributing in 2016.

“I haven’t played for a while,” Parker said. “You’re not around it and you feel like you’re cast off a little bit. It’s great to hear Billy say that. He’s been around enough and has seen the work and effort I‘ve put in. I think it contributes to that.”

Parker hasn’t taken the mound for the A’s since the 2013 American League Division Series against Detroit. He required his second Tommy John procedure in March 2014 (the first came in October 2009). Then, he was nearing the end of a minor league rehab assignment this past May when he fractured the medial epicondyle in his elbow during a start with Triple-A Nashville.

Through all the misfortune, Parker’s outlook has remained remarkably positive.

“It’s just how you take it. It’s kind of made me who I am,” he said. “You try not to ride the emotions of the roller coaster.”

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