Once the ninth overall pick in the MLB draft (Diamondbacks, 2007), Parker found his way to Oakland as part of the return that Arizona surrendered when initially acquiring a more established, controllable young righty: Trevor Cahill. Parker showed all the promise in the world, landing on five Top 100 lists from Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus after being drafted out of high school, and the fine early work in his career serves as a testament to what might have been had injuries not ruined a promising career.

Unfortunately for the talented young Parker, his elbow simply didn’t allow him to realize his considerable potential. The righty twice underwent Tommy John surgery before fracturing his elbow in his comeback attempt from that second Tommy John procedure. Unfathomably, Parker re-fractured the epicondyle bone in his elbow, necessitating a fourth elbow surgery. Parker’s former teammate Ryan Cook, A’s executive vice president Billy Beane and former A’s lefty Barry Zito are among the notable names who raved to Slusser about Parker’s raw potential and expressed sadness over never seeing how high his ceiling could have been.

Parker, now looking to the future, tells Slusser that he’d look to work in the health industry, potentially serving as a rehab coordinator for players returning from injury.

A bit more on the A’s…

• Also via Slusser, Oakland catcher Bruce Maxwell did not reach a plea agreement in his recent settlement conference, thus prompting a second such meeting to be scheduled for April 13. Maxwell, who is facing charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and disorderly conduct after allegedly pointing a firearm at a delivery person back in October, is slated for an Aug. 9 trial if no plea agreement can be reached. Maxwell is still expected to serve as Oakland’s primary catcher in 2018 despite those struggles; Slusser adds (via Twitter) that GM David Forst cited the team’s long relationship with Maxwell as a factor in its decision to give him a chance as the starting backstop in 2018. Maxwell was the Athletics’ second-round pick back in the 2012 draft.
• Jane Lee of MLB.com breaks down the rotation situation in Oakland, noting that only right-hander Kendall Graveman and left-hander Sean Manaea are considered locks to hold down a starting job at present. The final three spots are up for grabs in a race consisting of Andrew Triggs, Jharel Cotton, Daniel Mengden, Daniel Gossett and Paul Blackburn — assuming Oakland does not make any further additions to the staff. Lee adds, on Twitter, that manager Bob Melvin said Mengden’s strong finish to the season has him in the lead for the third spot in the rotation right now, but the A’s look to have a fairly sizable competition for rotation innings.

FRIDAY: The Athletics have outrighted pitchers Henderson Alvarez, Jarrod Parker and Felix Doubront to Triple-A Nashville, reports MLB.com’s Jane Lee (Twitter link). Each of the three was a likely non-tender candidate, as Alvarez recently underwent shoulder surgery, while Parker underwent a UCL/flexor tendon repair back in April and Doubront underwent Tommy John surgery in April as well. Though they can technically accept the outright assignments, each of the three is able to reject in favor of free agency, and that’s the likeliest outcome in each instance.

Alvarez inked a one-year, $4MM pact with Oakland after being non-tendered by the Marlins last offseason but was never able to fully get back on track following his first shoulder surgery. Ultimately, it was determined that he required a second procedure to attempt to repair a balky shoulder that has allowed him to pitch just 22 1/3 innings since a brilliant 2014 campaign (2.65 ERA in 187 innings) that now looks like a distant memory. He’ll draw interest as a free agent again due to the upside he brings, but securing a Major League contract isn’t a given this time around.

Parker, meanwhile, was once one of the more promising young arms in the game and looked like a mainstay in the Oakland rotation before a pair of Tommy John operations derailed his career. Now 27 years old (28 next month), Parker has battled through both of those procedures and an olecranon fracture and underwent what was said to be an experimental procedure to repair (but not replace) his ulnar collateral ligament and flexor tendon this spring. The hope, of course, is that he can work his way back to a big league mound, but to call that goal an uphill battle in light of his myriad arm injuries is perhaps an understatement.

As for Doubront, he could theoretically be ready to return to the mound next April or May, as his TJ procedure was performed in the first half of this past April. Of course, it’s far from certain that his recovery from the procedure will go smoothly and allow that presumptive target date to be realized. Parker and many others in recent years (including New York’s Zack Wheeler in 2016) serve as reminders that while many arms are able to bounce back and return to a mound in 12 to 14 months, Tommy John surgery is by no means a guarantee and is often accompanied by setbacks that lead to considerably lengthier absences.

With these moves, the A’s have now shed an incredible 12 players to whom they had committed either 40-man roster spots or 60-day DL spots in a span of roughly 48 hours. Yesterday, Oakland outrighted Eric Sogard, Fernando Rodriguez, Andrew Lambo, Tyler Ladendorf, J.B. Wendelken and Donn Roach, while Matt McBride and Chris Smith were outrighted on Wednesday this week. And, on top of those players that went unclaimed by other clubs, versatile infielder/outfielder Arismendy Alcantara failed to make it through outright waivers and was claimed by the Reds.

• Athletics righty Jarrod Parker has now undergone surgery, as expected, to repair his ulnar collateral ligament and flexor tendon, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. The procedure was described as successful, but the 27-year-old faces yet another lengthy and uncertain rehabilitation process after already working back from two prior Tommy John surgeries. This time, of course, it will be even less straightforward (though he didn’t require a new UCL), since he’s also suffered two fractures to the medial epicyndyle area that typically anchors the UCL. The Chronicle’s Susan Slusser takes a closer look at the medicine involved.
• It isn’t official yet, but the Mariners’ Opening Day roster appears set, Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune writes. Steve Clevenger appears likely to win the backup catcher job over Rob Brantly. Both are out of options, so one will need to go through waivers. Relievers Charlie Furbush (shoulder) and Evan Scribner (lat), meanwhile, seem likely to head to the 15-day DL. 1B/OF Efren Navarro, outfielder Daniel Robertson and pitchers Donn Roach and Blake Parker appear likely to head to Triple-A Tacoma, leaving the Mariners with a 25-man that would require extra 40-man space only for non-roster reliever Joel Peralta.

• The Rangers have tried to sign young infielder Rougned Odor to an extension, but the two sides found themselves far apart and talks are no longer active, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman tweets. Heyman reported in October that Odor and the Rangers would discuss a deal. Odor, who only recently turned 22, posted a .261/.316/.465 line in 2015 that was perhaps even more promising than it sounds, given the trajectory his season took — he struggled for the first six weeks of the season, headed down to Triple-A Round Rock, posted a 1.065 OPS there, and then batted .292/.334/.527 in the big leagues from June through the end of the year.
• Earlier today, we noted that one potential competitor for a spot in the Royals’ bullpen, Ross Ohlendorf, had opted out of his contract, giving the Royals 48 hours to place him on the roster or release him. Another potential competitor for one of the bullpen spots Ohlendorf is trying to win is Chien-Ming Wang, who has looked good in Spring Training. Wang’s opt-out date is May 1, Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star tweets. That means that, unlike with Ohlendorf, the Royals have a bit of time to figure out how they want to use him.
• Athletics pitcher Jarrod Parker has “no doubt” he will attempt to return to the mound, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle writes. Parker was once one of the game’s most promising starters after two strong seasons with the A’s in 2012 and 2013, but since then his career has become a mess of injuries. Last month, Parker re-fractured the medial epicondyle in his right elbow. He has already had two Tommy John surgeries and has missed the past two seasons, and in April he’ll undergo what sounds like a somewhat experimental surgery performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache to see if it’s possible his UCL can be repaired.

11:35am: Athletics righty Jarrod Parker will undergo surgery on his injured right arm on April 1st, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle was among those to report (Twitter links). Parker was recently diagnosed with a re-fracture of the medial epicondyle in his right elbow.

It’s not yet clear precisely what procedure will be undertaken, but it will be performed by noted surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache. Parker, of course, previously had the same injury addressed in surgery and progressed quite a ways in his rehab before it reoccurred. He’s also had two Tommy John procedures performed in recent years.

Parker, 27, had been said to be weighing his options after his latest setback. He was attempting to return as a reliever after showing promise earlier in his career as a member of the Oakland rotation.

Though he made it back for some minor league action last year, Parker hasn’t thrown in the majors since 2013. He avoided arbitration with Oakland this year for $850K, half of it guaranteed, and is eligible for arbitration one final time in the 2017 season.

MARCH 11: Athletics righty Jarrod Parker received devastating news today, with the team announcing that he has been diagnosed with a re-fracture of the medial epicondyle in his right elbow (via John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group, on Twitter). That’s the same injury that most recently shelved the once-promising starter, who has also battled through two Tommy John procedures.

Needless to say, it’s a terrible setback for the 27-year-old, who was hoping to return as a reliever. He left the mound in obvious pain yesterday, though hopes were that it was only an unrelated elbow issue.

Parker was still working back to strength after his most recent surgery, which took place in May of 2015, so there’s a long and uncertain road ahead if he chooses to keep trying to make it back to the majors. It’s not yet clear how he’ll proceed — no doubt, he’s not yet ready to commit to a decision — but the particular fracture was already considered an unusual and largely unprecedented injury to recover from.

After the Diamondbacks made him the ninth overall pick in the 2007 draft, selecting him out of high school, Parker rose quickly and cracked the majors at 22 years of age. He went to Oakland as the key piece in the Trevor Cahill deal after a brief debut in Arizona, plugging right into the A’s rotation after four quality starts at Triple-A. Ultimately, Parker provided 378 1/3 innings of 3.73 ERA pitching over 2012-13.

Unfortunately, it’s now been quite a while since we’ve seen Parker in action at the major league level. Since the end of that 2013 campaign, in fact, he has made just four minor league appearances.

Despite that, Parker has been accruing major league service time while on the DL and has managed to build up some fairly significant earnings based on his prior efforts. He made $850K in arbitration last year and agreed to the same sum this time around — half of which, notably, is said to be guaranteed. Parker will be entering his final season of arb control in 2017 before qualifying for free agency, and some creative contract work may be needed if he and the team decide to keep trying.

Elsewhere in the AL West…

• Jarrod Parker’s uphill battle to return from a pair of Tommy John surgeries and a fractured epicondyle in his right elbow appears to have hit a snag, per Matt Kawahara of the Sacramento Bee. The Athletics right-hander, facing live hitters for the first time today, left the mound “yelling in pain” after throwing a pitch, Kawahara tweets. Pitching coach Curt Young, somewhat surprisingly, told Kawahara (Twitter link) that he “thinks” Parker will be OK, though he declined to go into any detail. A bullpen role for Parker had been the club’s preference for Parker, club sources told John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle, but Young did term the incident a “setback,” and the A’s have announced the injury as a “lateral elbow impingement,” via John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link). Parker is headed for an MRI, per Hickey. MLB.com’s Jane Lee tweets that this injury is less severe than his previous maladies, as he currently has range of motion in his elbow.
• Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports looks at the improbable (and that adjective is underselling the story) comeback of left-hander Rich Hill, who signed a one-year, $6MM contract with the Athletics this offseason on the heels of four brilliant September starts in Boston. Hill was granted his release from a minor league deal with the Nationals this past June and began working on throwing over the top for the first time after years of working more from a side-arm angle. Hill told his agent that he wanted an opportunity to start, and, finding no opportunities even with a Triple-A club, took to the independent Atlantic League to find a spot in the rotation. Hill parlayed that into a spot in the Red Sox’ Triple-A rotation and only received a call-up in September when Steven Wright suffered an injury. Four starts and a 1.55 ERA (with a 36-to-5 K/BB ratio in 29 innings) later, Hill says he received interest from 20 teams as a free agent and actually turned down an offer for more money than the $6MM he landed from the A’s.
• Mariners relievers Evan Scribner and Ryan Cook are likely ticketed for the disabled list to begin the 2016 season, reports Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune. Each right-hander is dealing with a strained lat muscle in his back, per GM Jerry Dipoto, who said the news was actually better than he’d been expecting.
• The outlook on Mariners lefty Danny Hultzen, however, is considerably less favorable, Dutton notes. The former No. 2 overall pick is again on the shelf due to shoulder pain, and manager Scott Servais said he “[doesn’t] see” when Hultzen could get into a game. Hultzen has been working exclusively as a reliever, but he experienced a setback recently, per Servais. One anonymous club official simply told Dutton that Hultzen’s status is “not good.” Dutton writes that the slew of injuries makes it easier for Joel Peralta to make the roster out of Spring Training, also reporting that Peralta is able to elect free agency late in camp if he is informed that he will not make the roster.

Here’s some more camp news out of the AL West:

• Athletics righty Jarrod Parker is going to be limited to bullpen duty as he tries to work back from an elbow fracture (not to mention his two prior Tommy John procedures), Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The 27-year-old, who hasn’t seen MLB action since 2013, will likely trim his offerings down to a fastball-change combination. He’s currently building up his arm strength in bullpen sessions, and says that he’s just taking things one step at a time. “Expectations are not in my vocabulary anymore,” said Parker. “I just go day to day and try to be in tune, see how I feel, give what I’ve got that day and not try to reach.”
• The Athletics have received good signs on the injury front from catcher Stephen Vogt and righty Jesse Hahn, as Slusser further reports. Vogt, who isn’t far removed from an elbow procedure, hit two home runs today and says he was glad to be able to “trust the elbow” and “take full swings and not feel any pain.” And Hahn, who was limited last year with a concerning forearm strain, looked good in his two innings and says he feels healthy. Likewise, outfielder Coco Crisp looks to be in good form after an injury-riddled 2015 season, manager Bob Melvin told reporters including John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group (via Twitter).
• Over in Angels camp, the left field situation remains an interesting one to watch, and MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez writes that 24-year-old Rafael Ortega is a player who has impressed early. Of course, the organization still seems set to go with a platoon of Daniel Nava and Craig Gentry to open the season. As Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times reports, they have taken a long and winding road to this point.

Here’s more injury-related notes out of Oakland:

• A’s closer Sean Doolittle says he’s healthy and ready for the 2016 season, writes John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. Doolittle missed most of the 2015 with a shoulder injury. In his absence, the A’s had one of the worst bullpens in the league. Doolittle is pleased with the additions the club has made – particularly Ryan Madson, John Axford, Lian Hendriks, and Marc Rzepczynski.
• Coco Crisp’s availability in 2016 is unknown, per Shea. Injuries limited him to 44 games last season, and he’s only just now beginning to hit. The club will learn more about his availability in Spring Training.
• Also from Shea, manager Bob Melvin expects Jarrod Parker to be ready for spring action. Parker, once a prominent pitching prospect, has missed most of the last two seasons due to Tommy John surgery. He’s experienced success in the majors, including a career 3.68 ERA, 6.45 K/9, and 2.98 BB/9 in 384 innings.
• Two more starting pitchers who ended the season on the disabled list – Jesse Hahn and Kendall Graveman – are fully healthy, writes Joe Stiglich of CSN Bay Area. Hahn and Graveman were acquired in trades prior to the 2015 season. They will join a competitive battle for a rotation role behind ace Sonny Gray and free agent import Rich Hill.

MLBTR projected Parker would receive precisely $850K, which is also the same amount he made last season after his first trip through the arbitration process. Parker appeared to be one of the game’s better young starting pitchers after posting a 3.68 ERA, 6.4 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 384 big-league innings through 2013. But he has not appeared in the big leagues in the past two years, as he had the second Tommy John surgery of his career early in 2014 and then fractured the elbow and had yet another operation (although, perhaps mercifully, not another of the Tommy John variety) last season. Now 27, he will attempt to get his career back on track in 2016.

More from the AL West…

• After speaking with Mariners director of minor league player development Chris Gwynn, Divish also reports that top prospect and 2014 first-rounder Alex Jackson has been shut down with a shoulder issue. According to Gwynn, Jackson hurt his left shoulder in Spring Training while diving for a ball, and the injury has likely hampered his swing this season. That would explain how Jackson, who slashed .280/.344/.476 in his pro debut with the club’s Rookie-level affiliate in 2014, saw his production plummet to .157/.240/.213 with Class-A Clinton in 2015. Jackson will head to extended Spring Training for the time being as he works to rehab the injury.
• Athletics righty Jarrod Parker underwent successful surgery to repair the fractured medial epicondyle in his right elbow, reports MLB.com’s Jane Lee. The club briefly thought that Parker might need a third Tommy John surgery after he initially sustained the injury, making this operation something of a relief, despite the its generally unfortunate nature. There’s still no timetable on his recovery, however.
• The Rangers’ decision to designate Carlos Peguero earlier today opened a spot on the 25-man roster and was likely influenced by the impending return of Josh Hamilton (who will pick up most of Peguero’s at-bats in the corner outfield), but Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets another wrinkle to the move. The open spot on the 40-man roster won’t be filled immediately — Klein was already on the 40-man, as is Hamilton — which could allow the Rangers to give former first-round pick and consensus Top 100 prospect Alex “Chi Chi” Gonzalez a look in the rotation if they wish. Gonzalez hasn’t dazzled in his first taste of Triple-A pitching, but the 23-year-old does have a lifetime 3.14 ERA with 7.0 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in the minors.
• Albert Pujols left the game tonight after being hit by a pitch on the hand, but Angels GM Jerry Dipoto told reporters, including Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times (Twitter link) that there are no fractures. Pujols will be day-to-day with a bruise but shouldn’t miss any significant amount of time.

On the positive side, it appears that Parker will not require another UCL replacement, per a tweet from Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Rather, he’ll be going under the knife to “stabilize” the fracture.

Needless to say, the overall situation is terribly disappointing for both Parker and the A’s. The former ninth overall pick owns a 3.68 ERA over 384 total big league innings, all logged before he even reached his age-25 season. But that’s approximately where the good news ended, as Parker — now 26, has not thrown in the big leagues in either of the last two seasons.

At this point, there is at least some possibility that Parker will be a non-tender candidate. He is arb-eligible for two more seasons after this one, giving additional cause for Oakland to try to bring him back to health. Then, there’s the fact that the A’s defeated Parker in an arbitration hearing over the winter, leaving him with a $850K salary that would very likely be repeated next year — hardly a significant investment. Of course, the prognosis and timetable, which will presumably drive the decisionmaking, remain unreported.

Here’s more from the AL West…

• Marc Krauss, whose contract was selected by the Angels earlier tonight, has the opportunity to stick with the club for awhile, writes MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez. The Halos are in dire need of some left-handed pop to help balance out a lineup that has struggled at times against right-handed pitching. “We need offense,” manager Mike Scioscia said to Gonzalez. “The balance of left-handed and right-handed isn’t quite there with us, and it’s showing up statistically.” Krauss is something of a journeyman, but he was hitting quite well at Triple-A this season, having slashed .281/.405/.458.
• Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor wasn’t entirely surprised by his demotion to Triple-A, he tells Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. “I was swinging at a lot of bad pitches. I know that,” Odor said to Grant. “I was not like me. I didn’t feel like me. I wasn’t hitting good.” GM Jon Daniels said he expects Odor to return to the big league club shortly once he corrects some of the issues he developed en route to a cringe-worthy .144/.252/.233 batting line.
• The Rangers will have a crowded situation at first base upon activating Mitch Moreland from the disabled list this week, and it might cost outfielder Jake Smolinski his roster spot, according to Grant’s colleague, Gerry Fraley. Smolinski, 26, has just five at-bats over the team’s past eight games and did not get the start tonight, either. Moreland will join Prince Fielder, Adam Rosales and Kyle Blanks as first base options, and Blanks has begun working out in the outfield, Fraley notes. Smolinski has options remaining, so the team wouldn’t need to expose him to waivers in order to send him to the minors.

“We don’t know how much this is going to set back his recovery at this point in time,’’ A’s trainer Nick Paparesta said Saturday night. “He’s going to go home, where we’re going to set him up to see some specialists and see what our options are. It seems like surgery is kind of imminent, what kind of surgery we kind of have to wait and see.’’

Until Parker gets further evaluated, he won’t know the exact nature of his injury or the level of surgery that will be required.  Therefore, at this time, there is no timetable for his recovery, but it sounds like there is fear that he could be lost for the season.  Parker received a x-rays and a CT-scan on Saturday night, so a diagnosis might not be too far away.

Parker, 26, broke out in his first full major league season, pitching to a 3.47 ERA with 6.9 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9. He followed that up in 2013 by posting a 3.97 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 across 32 starts. Unfortunately, however, he has not seen a big league mound since then.  This season, Parker in the minors working to get back on track before this latest setback.

This complicated-looking trade likely essentially means that the Red Sox are giving up Mujica, plus a bit of extra money to pay some of the remainder of his $4.75MM 2015 salary, in exchange for a bit of salary relief. The Red Sox designated Mujica for assignment this week after he posted a 4.61 ERA with eight strikeouts and three walks in 13 2/3 innings this year. The former Cardinals closer didn’t make much of an impression after signing with the Red Sox before last season, posting a 3.90 ERA, 6.5 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 2014.

Mujica doesn’t throw particularly hard and has modest strikeout totals, not topping that 2014 6.5 K/9 in any of the last four seasons. As a result, his upside appears limited. He’s always had good control and has gotten his fair share of ground balls, however, so perhaps he can provide the Athletics with a decent middle reliever at a reasonable price until he becomes a free agent after the season. The Athletics’ bullpen has produced a 5.29 ERA this season while struggling through injuries, so Mujica looks likely to help.