By Matthew Harrington

The Oakland Athletics received a bit of good news in a weekend that saw the Green and Gold swept by the Braves in Atlanta. According to the A’s, Craig Gentry took batting practice with the Oakland Class AAA affiliate Sacramento. After evaluating Gentry’s injured hand, the A’s felt comfortable clearing Gentry to being a minor league rehabilitation stint.

Craig Gentry opened his rehab going 0-for-4 with the Sacramento River Cats, striking out twice in a 7-0 loss to the Oklahoma City RedHawks Monday night. The right-handed hitting Gentry is currently batting .264 with 18 steals and 10 runs batted in with the parent club over 80 games in 2014. Gentry, shelved after breaking his hand on a bunt attempt in late July, began the season on the disabled list with a back injury.

Since Gentry went on the disabled list July 28^th, the A’s have gone 8-12. They welcome the New York Mets to O.Co Coliseum having lost seven of their last eight contests and find themselves a half-game back of the Los Angeles Angels in the AL West.

The return of Gentry adds to the glut of players with outfield experience on the Athletics roster. Oakland currently has Brandon Moss, Coco Crisp, Josh Reddick, Stephen Vogt, Jonny Gomes and Sam Fuld on the active roster. The speedy Gentry provides a late-inning option both on the base paths and defensively for Oakland.

No time table has been set on Gentry’s return, but with so many outfield options, the A’s staff can be cautious with their offseason acquisition from Texas. One option could be to wait until rosters expand in September, allowing the A’s to keep the current roster without having to designate a player for assignment. Once the postseason rolls around though, general manager Billy Beane and manager Bob Melvin will have a challenge on their hands thinning out the outfield depth.