The A's long local nightmare of not having Coco Crisp to lead off (?) and play left field will end Sunday. Here's hoping this stint in the majors last a little longer than the last one did for Crisp.

The easy move will be to option Max Muncy, as Susan Slusser notes at the link, but that also means no backup infielders. Looking at the available reserves on the roster, optioning Muncy would appear to make Mark Canha the emergency third baseman, with Eric Sogard backing up shortstop and Brett Lawrie backing up second base. On the one hand, that's not ideal. On the other, Earl Weaver always said that your backup shortstop should be at Triple-A, and this is just an extension of that. If Muncy is the least useful player, and he probably is, then bite the bullet and take the risk, especially since the wins don't actually matter anyway.

Felix Doubront is also supposed to be added tomorrow. He'll be the sixth starter on the roster, so Chris Bassitt could head out. Alternatively, Bassitt or Doubront could hit the bullpen and Dan Otero could be sent out. I'm probably least in favor of fewer MLB innings for Bassitt because it's still not entirely clear what he is and whether the A's should count on him for the next four years. A six-starter rotation also might not be the worst idea for the next two months, given the youth of Sonny Gray, Kendall Graveman, and Bassitt, the tendency of Jesse Chavez to wear down, and the goal of auditioning as many pitchers for 2016 roles as possible.