On Friday Brett Anderson faced live hitters for the first time since being temporarily shutdown in May. He said he is all systems go for his scheduled bullpen session on Sunday. If that goes well he will head to Arizona to pitch two innings.
"My body is a little sore just cause I am not used to throwing to hitters and stuff," Anderson said. "As far as my elbow goes, it feels good right now. I woke up and felt pretty good so that's a positive."
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Anderson threw 25 pitches in his live batting practice session. He threw his full arsenal of his pitches. The 24-year-old lefty had Tommy John surgery on July 14, 2011. He appears to be on track to join the A's rotation at some point this season.
Dallas Braden also threw yesterday. He threw 40 pitches from the bullpen mound. He is still limited to throwing mostly fastballs. Melvin said he might have mixed in a few changeups during the session.
"You can tell just by the way he's bouncing around afterward how he did," Melvin said. "If he didn't feel like he did very well you wouldn't see him."
Braden is a little farther behind than Anderson. He is recovering from shoulder surgery and hasn't pitched since April 16, 2011.