Ron Washington: A’s won’t fall apart because of Jarrod Parker’s injury

The A’s road to becoming three-time American League West champions became tougher today. Starter Jarrod Parker will not pitch this season, as the 25-year-old is scheduled to undergo Tommy John reconstructive elbow surgery, a significant blow to their rotation.

That setback could help the Texas Rangers get back to the top of the division, but not in manager Ron Washington’s eyes.

“The A’s got pitching,” said Washington, Oakland’s longtime third-base coach before becoming Texas’ manager.

“Now, it just gives one of the other pitching phenoms a chance. They’ve got tons of them. They develop pitching. Yeah, they’re going to miss Parker, but they’ve got pitching. Always have and always will.

“They’re going to be fine. Just because they lost one pitcher doesn’t mean they’re going to fall apart.”

But Parker has been a dependable starter for them the past two seasons. He went 13-8 with a 3.47 ERA over 29 starts and 181 1/3 innings in 2012, and 12-8 with a 3.97 ERA over 32 starts and 197 innings last season.

Parker has a good track record against the Rangers as well, going 6-1 with a 2.93 ERA over seven career starts.

This story was originally published March 17, 2014 at 6:21 PM with the headline "Ron Washington: A’s won’t fall apart because of Jarrod Parker’s injury."