Mengden is expected to move to the Oakland bullpen or get optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas in the coming days after the Athletics acquired starting pitcher Tanner Roark from the Reds on Wednesday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Oakland tipped its hand on Mengden's likely removal from the rotation by passing him over for a start in Thursday's series finale with Milwaukee, even though he last pitched five days earlier. Instead, Homer Bailey will draw the nod for that contest, while an off day Friday will allow the Athletics to once again reorder their rotation. Since Roark should be ready to slot into the pitching schedule for the series with the Cubs early next week, the Athletics would be able to get by without Mengden having to make another start.