Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Drew Pomeranz has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with a fractured right hand, according to a press release from the team. Relief pitcher Evan Scribner was called up from Triple-A Sacramento to take his place on the roster.

Pomeranz is left-handed, so this injury is to his non-throwing hand. It's unclear how the injury was sustained, or whether it happened before, during, or after his start Monday night, or how serious it is, or if it was a factor in Pom's poor performance in the game, or how long we will be out. All we know is that Pom has a bum paw.

(Update: He punched a chair on his way back to the clubhouse after he was pulled from the game. At least he's watched Bull Durham and he knew to use his non-pitching hand.)

Pomeranz punched a wooden chair out of frustration on his way back to the clubhouse last night. — Jane Lee (@JaneMLB) June 17, 2014

Pomeranz said fracture is to lower pinkie area of right hand. Has a brace, no cast. Unsure of timeline. "I think it's best case." #Athletics — Matt Kawahara (@matthewkawahara) June 17, 2014

Scribner is a right-handed relief pitcher who has gone back and forth between Oakland and Sacramento for the last three seasons. He made two appearances for the A's early this season and retired all four batters he faced; in his Oakland career, he has a 3.27 ERA in 50 games (63⅓ innings) with a solid 2.58 strikeout-to-walk ratio (49 K's, 19 BB's). The 28-year-old has a 4.32 ERA this year in 25 innings in Triple-A, but his peripherals suggest that he's pitched better than that -- 34 strikeouts, six walks, about a hit per inning, and only one home run. Scribbles is a known quantity, and that quantity is "decent." Him being in Oakland's bullpen is totally acceptable.

This move clears up some confusion over Tuesday's acquisition of Brad Mills from Milwaukee. It was reported that Mills would step directly into the rotation, and now we know why a replacement is needed. Looks like Jeff Francis didn't make the cut. And as a result, you have to assume that Francis will now be the roster casualty for Mills*, with Scribner and/or Dan Otero serving as the multi-inning long man in the bullpen.

* Mills or whoever else is chosen to replace Pomeranz. It could also be Dan Straily, Josh Lindblom, or Arnold Leon. Lindblom (6.20 ERA) and Leon (5.35) have not been impressive in Triple-A this year. Justin Marks and Joe Savery both have starting experience and are on the 40-man roster, but neither seems like a logical candidate because they've both been pitching out of the bullpen this year.