Dallas Braden suffered a set back in his rehabilitation:

Dallas Braden, who was expected to join the rotation in early May, had a setback in his rehab and sustained a strained shoulder. His throwing program was shut down, and Melvin said of an early May return, “Actually, we’re on hold with that right now.”

Melvin said the setback occurred when Braden was playing catch a day after his last bullpen session, just before the A’s left for Japan on March 22, though the club made no public mention of it until Saturday.

The A’s rotation beind McCarthy and Colon is young and untested. A healthy Braden would give the starters a bit more stability.