Or at least that's the assumption. Matt Olson has been recalled and Daniel Mengden optioned back to Nashville, leaving the A's with four starting pitchers and therefore an empty spot for Friday's game. It seems entirely likely, then, that Jeremy Koo is right and Olson is here to give the A's an extra bat for a few days, after which he'll be optioned back out when Jesse Hahn is activated from the disabled list and slotted back into the rotation.

With Yonder Alonso continuing to crush the ball, one can't imagine Olson (or anybody else) getting much time at first base. Olson could send Matt Joyce to the bench once or twice this week, and nobody would consider it much of a loss; on the other hand, Joyce is a better player than he's acted like for the first two months, and if the A's want to get out from under his contract, he's going to have to show something in the next two months to make himself a viable trade candidate.

One could also contemplate a game or two off for Trevor Plouffe and his 77 OPS+, with Ryon Healy playing third base, leaving the DH spot open, ideally for Khris Davis, with Olson slotting into left field. Healy himself is back to the Healy we saw last year; after bottoming out with a .650 OPS on May 3, he's hit .327/.351/.617 in 27 games since. That's a grand total of four walks in 111 plate appearances, sure, but it's looking like that's the price we'll pay for his power; he's more Khris Davis than Chris Davis.

UPDATE: Jesse Hahn will start Tuesday. With Olson arriving from the airport too late to start today's game (boy, it sure was nice when the Triple-A team was just up the road in Sacramento...), it's probable that means he'll start on Monday at best, and then head back down. Oh well!