ARLINGTON, Texas – Josh Phegley was smiling as if it were Christmas morning. And why not? The A’s brought him back off the disabled list Friday, just in time for the start of a six-game, two-city road trip through Texas and Seattle.
The last time the A’s saw Phegley was a week ago Thursday when he was hit hard on his catcher’s mask by a foul tip. The result was a concussion.
And while Major League Baseball has a special 7-day disabled list just to handle concussion cases, a week frequently isn’t enough time for even battle-handed catchers to get right and be able to pass all the concussion protocols the sport now has in place.