The A's will hold off on having Rich Hill start for them Sunday, one day ahead of the trade deadline, but Hill's blistered left middle finger won't keep the club from trading him if they get the right deal.
Oakland general manager David Forst said Friday that while no deal was close, Hill's health status wouldn't be a barrier to trading him if the club likes what it is being offered in return.
And manager Bob Melvin said the club might have a yes-or-no decision on Hill going to the disabled list as soon as Saturday.
"The blister is feeling well, but it's still not there," Hill said in a text message from Cleveland. "We do not want to run into another situation like before. That would push everything back."
Hill tried to make a start on July 17 after 10 days off when the blister first cropped up, but he lasted only five pitches when the blister gave way.
The 36-year-old left-hander has pitched only three games since the end of May, but his 9-3 record and 2.25 ERA have intrigued contending clubs in a pitching-poor trade deadline environment. The blister problem "hasn't diminished the number of phone calls" the A's have been getting about Hill, Forst said.
The A's will start Sonny Gray on Sunday.
Forst said if Hill is put on the disabled list, he'd go on the list retroactive 10 days, meaning he would still be able to pitch in the first week of the next A's homestand that begins a week from Friday _ if he's still on the team.
And he and his family want him to be.
"Yes, we would like to stay in Oakland," he said. "Everything is great here. We have enjoyed our time here."
Forst said a deal remains a possibility.
"There has been interest. We've had conversations," Forst said while admitting no deal is imminent. "We're not going to give Rich away just because he's potentially a free agent next year. He has a lot of value to us and, frankly, who's to say we're not interested in keeping Rich beyond this year?"
The A's have talked privately about making Hill a qualifying offer at season's end. That would be worth a little less than $17 million and while players don't necessarily accept qualifying offers, Hill might at that price.
Hill was supposed to throw a full bullpen session Friday in Cleveland before the series opener with the Indians, but after playing catch, Hill, trainer Nick Paparesta and Melvin in concurrence with Forst, decided against that.
"He's better, but it's not to the point where we want to run him out there and take the chance of him ripping a layer of skin off and then we lose him for an even longer period of time," Melvin said. "He's eager to pitch, but he knows he has to be careful with it."
Hill might try to throw a bullpen session with his blistered finger bandaged Saturday if the blister is sufficiently improved.
"It was clear from a couple of days ago it would be a longshot," Forst said of having Hill starting Sunday. The A's can use Gray without any difficulty because an off-day Thursday makes Sunday what would be his regular day to start.
"I talked to Nick and Bob last night, and we decided that unless there was a drastic change, Rich wasn't going to throw on the side," Forst said. "He's made a lot of progress. Whether he pitches Monday or not, the trade deadline is Monday. Regardless, we were going to do what was best for Rich and for the organization."
The A's are 9-4 in their first 13 games coming out of the break, tied with the Angels for the best record over that stretch in the American League, and Forst said that has impacted the way the club is thinking about trades in general.
"I couldn't handicap it," the GM said when asked if a deal was likely. "The guys have played well. How that effects Monday remains to be seen."
