Brett Anderson injury: Oakland SP says oblique still 'tender'

Joe Stiglich has an update on the status of Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Brett Anderson.

Anderson said his oblique is still feeling a bit tender after throwing today. He'll reassess things after deciding how he feels tomorrow. He is hopeful to be available by Friday, by which time the A's might begin their playoff bid either as a wild-card team or as the AL West champions (depending on whether they can win their final two games against the Rangers).

Anderson began throwing a few days ago after he strained that right oblique a few weeks back on Sept. 19 against the Detroit Tigers. He tossed around 35 baseballs Thursday and has been tossing around since that point. The A's are trying not to press Anderson too quickly, as they hope he'll be ready to return for the playoffs.

Anderson is still coming off of Tommy John surgery that kept him out of action for at least a year, and he did win four starts while posting a 2.57 ERA and a 4-2 record.