The A's have lost two key veteran members of their starting rotation this week. First came Aaron Civale on Monday, and then Luis Severino left Friday's game in between the first and second innings with right arm soreness. 

He told reporters after the game that as he was warming up to pitch the second, he was getting tighter and tighter, and that he'd been dealing with the soreness since his previous start against the Los Angeles Angels. 

On Saturday, the A's officially placed Severino on the 15-day IL with a right shoulder strain. 

A's manager Mark Kotsay spoke on the injury ahead of Saturday's game. "We haven't had [the test results] completely read, but the initial finding is that it's definitely a shoulder strain. I think when medical gets the full report back, then they will release a statement that's more specific to the injury." 

Typically players that are only set to miss a brief period of time don't receive a full medical diagnosis email sent out to reporters, which could be a signal of a longer absence incoming. That said, he is one of the team's highest-paid players, so perhaps that is enough of a reason to provide further details. 

Kotsay went on to say that at this point the team's plans in the rotation are day-by-day. The plan appears to be that the front office will assess where the club is at following the Yankees series this weekend. 

If J.T. Ginn and Jacob Lopez don't provide length, then the A's may have to dip into their farm system for a replacement. If even one of them goes five or six innings, then that could open up the possibility of having Jack Perkins be called upon to start for the A's. 

As we mentioned this morning, the off-day on Monday provides the A's some flexibility to deploy their fill-in starter any time between Tuesday and Saturday while keeping everyone on regular rest. 

"There's obviously an opening in the rotation," Kotsay said. "But one I think that we'll wait through the off-day to make a determination on how we use that rotation spot. Who we use in that rotation spot. 

When asked about Jacob Wilson's recovery, Kotsay said that the team isn't sure of a definite timeframe, but that he was out working, testing his shoulder on some plays that he had to reach for. "We're going to see how he responds tomorrow to that." The hope is that the A's can send him out for a rehab assignment at some point on the team's upcoming road trip next week.

Max Muncy is the DH for Triple-A Las Vegas tonight. On Wednesday he told AthleticsRoundtable that he expected to be starting a rehab assignment in the next five to eight days. Three days later he's leading off for the Aviators.