Kaprielian tossed a scoreless inning of relief in the Athletics' 4-0 loss to the Cubs on Tuesday.

EDGE Analysis

Prior to Tuesday's contest, Athletics manager Mark Kotsay told Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle that his plans for Kaprielian and the rest of the team's rotation were fluid beyond Thursday's off day, but at least for now, the right-hander looks like he may be viewed as the team's sixth starter. Kaprielian's relief appearance came three days after he was blasted for six runs over 3.2 innings in a start against the Mets, inflating his season ERA to 12.15. Oakland has already named JP Sears, Shintaro Fujinami and Kyle Muller as its starters for the three-game weekend series in Texas, so Kaprielian looks like he's been pushed to the back of the pitching schedule. In order to allow Fujinami to remain on a once-a-week pitching schedule, Oakland is expected to maintain a six-man rotation, but even Kaprielian's hold on the No. 6 starting spot could be precarious. Both Drew Rucinski (hamstring) and Paul Blackburn (finger) are in the midst of rehab assignments and could soon be ready to return from the 15-day injured list to give Oakland additional rotation options.