Venditte placed on DL
ANAHEIM — At the age of 29, reliever Pat Venditte finally got the call to the big leagues June 5.
One week later, Venditte — the first full- time switch pitcher in modern major- league history and pitching extremely well — went on the disabled list with a right shoulder strain.
“It went from pure joy, getting called up and being asked to help the team as much as I’ve been able to do, to this is a big setback,” Venditte said Friday at Angel Stadium.
Venditte said an MRI exam showed a small area of fraying in the same place he had shoulder surgery in 2012. The team is shutting him down for a week. He believes he might not miss much more than the 15- day minimum.
The A’s did not consider keeping Venditte on the roster solely as a left- hander. Among other things, manager Bob Melvin said, was the fact that Venditte could feel the injury behind his right shoulder when throwing left- handed — in fact, he first felt the injury Wednesday night when throwing lefty in the fifth inning.
“We want to get him as healthy as we can as quickly as we can,” Melvin said.
And, of course, much of Venditte’s value stems from the fact that his teams have a mostly constant left- left or right- right pitching advantage when he is on the mound.
“My best chance to help this team is as a switch pitcher,” Venditte said.
Venditte appeared in four games with Oakland and has not allowed a run in 52⁄ innings, making him one of the brightest spots of a beleaguered bullpen.
“Especially all the opportunities they gave me the first week,” Venditte said. “Once you get here, you want to prove you can stay, and I felt I was off to a good start, so this is terrible timing.”
Right- hander Arnold Leon was recalled to take Venditte’s spot.
Viciedo signed: The A’s signed former White Sox outfielder Dayan Viciedo, 26, to a minor- league deal and he will report to Nashville in the next week. He was released by the Blue Jays during the spring and had been unsuccessful trying to find a spot on a bigleague roster since then.
“Anytime you can increase the depth, a guy like that with a track record as a power bat in the big leagues, it’s nice to be able to have him in our organization,” Melvin said.
Viciedo hit 25 homers for Chicago in 2012, but he led the league in outfield errors two years ago. He does have an opt- out in his contract that will allow him to leave if he is not on the big- league roster by a certain date.
Briefly: A. J. Griffin allowed eight hits, including four homers, and six runs, five earned, in 41⁄ innings in a rehab start with Triple- A Nashville. ... Ike Davis ( quad) went 1- for- 3 with a double for Nashville. ... The A’s agreed to terms with 18 players from this week’s draft, including secondround pick Mikey White, a shortstop from Alabama.