Oakland Athletics right-handed starter Dallas Braden is making progress in his return from a shoulder injury. Susan Slusser of the Chronicle tweeted that Braden was going to throw today. There was no word as to how much Oakland's training staff was going to stretch him out, but this is the first word of Braden doing anything resembling a baseball activity since his injury, which was horrifically described by Braden himself.
Braden was off to a good start for the A's, with an ERA of 3.00 and a good K/BB ratio before he was pulled in the fifth inning of his April 16 start against the Detroit Tigers.
Right-hander Tyson Ross replaced Braden in the Athletics' rotation, and though he was knocked around in his first start filling in, he rebounded to throw seven scoreless innings against the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night. There are legitimate concerns about Ross's experience and his durability, but he's got the talent to fill in nicely until Braden returns.