This is the same elbow that Sheets had to have surgery on back in 2009, causing him to miss an entire baseball season.

The injury is being termed an elbow strain, and it comes at a bad time as the right-hander has pitched much better over the past several starts.

The A’s were possibly looking to trade Sheets before the July 31 deadline, but that is no longer a possibility.

It is the seventh time Sheets has landed on the disabled list in his career and he will likely be out for a significant period of time.

On the strength of three home runs, the A’s out-slugged the host Kansas City Royals, 9-6, to finish off a three-game sweep.

Adam Rosales, Kevin Kouzmanoff and Jack Cust all went yard, giving the A’s their fifth straight win overall and bringing the club back to .500. The offense gave starting pitcher Vince Mazzaro all the cushion he needed and more. He pitched into the eighth inning, surrendering one run and striking out five, bumping his record to 5-2 on the year.

The aforementioned middle of the Oakland lineup combined to drive in seven of the team’s nine runs. They chased Kansas City starting pitcher Brian Bannister, tagging him for five runs and taking advantage of his wildness. He issued six walks while striking out just two batters.

Scoring runs is still a challenge for Oakland, but they continue to get good pitching out of their starters and bullpen.

Dallas Braden has led the charge in the starting rotation, with his perfect game being the highlight of the first half of the season.

Gio Gonzalez has steadily improved, and Andrew Bailey has been almost unhittable as the team’s closer.

Rajai Davis has given the offense a spark with his speed on the basepaths, which is rare to see from a Billy Beane team.

He threw 109 pitches, 77 for strikes, while striking out six batters.

The feat was especially heartfelt and special for Braden because he accomplished it on Mother’s Day.

Braden could be seen after the game in tears with his grandmother. His mother passed away from skin cancer while he was in high school.

He said that it hadn’t been a pleasant day for him for some time, but he finally had a happy memory.

The best way to describe the first month of the season for the Oakland A’s? Streaky.

Four times in the first month of the season, the A’s put together four streaks of at least three games in a row. At the end of the month, it ended with Oakland riding a four-game losing streak and finishing April at 12-12.

Oakland rebounded on the opening day of May, winning 4-3 at Toronto to improve to 13-12 and staying ½ game ahead of Texas in the AL West.

After losing on opening day to Seattle, the A’s ran off four consecutive wins. Following three consecutive victories over Baltimore in the middle of the month, Oakland sat at 9-4 on the season. Then, the A’s lost three straight games.

Oakland rebounded to win three of four, then dropped four in a row to end the month, giving up 10 runs each in two of the losses.

Pitching has led the way to this point. Both Dallas Braden and Gio Gonzalez are 3-1. Justin Duchscherer is 2-1 with a 2.89 ERA. Rajai Davis’ 11 stolen bases highlight the offense.

—30—

Crisp, whom Oakland considered a key offseason acquisition, was enjoying a great spring before suffering the injury. He was batting .432 with two home runs and eight RBI, appearing eager to take advantage of the opportunity with the A’s after struggling with Kansas City last year in another season cut short by injury.

Oakland still has burner Rajai Davis patrolling center field, but Crisp was part of a shift in strategy for the team that concentrates more on speed and aggressiveness on the base paths. Without him, it will be interesting to see if that thinking changes.

Chavez was once one of the game’s emerging stars, but a number of injuries have derailed his career.

His back problems have been notorious, but the Athletics are hopeful a position change could be the remedy.

Third base is a much more demanding position than first base and also requires a lot more work.

The team is most concerned about keeping Chavez healthy and his big bat in the lineup, so look for first base to become his new position.

In exchange, the Athletics sent veteran shortstop Orlando Cabrera to the Reds as part of a four-player deal.

The A’s then quickly designated Taveras for assignment to create more room on their 40-man roster.

Trading Cabrera amounted to a salary dump for the Athletics, who were not interested in paying him the type of money he wanted.

It’s the type of move that really worked out well for both teams as well as all of the players involved.

The Athletics watched Sheets throw in a bullpen session, and came away impressed enough to offer a contract.

The oft-injured Sheets didn’t pitch last year after undergoing elbow surgery, and it’s only been 11 months since the operation.

The deal is one that limits the risk for the Athletics, who were the only team willing to take a chance on Sheets.

Sheets is a four-time All-Star but has befuddled scouts with his inconsistency and injury history.

Sheets didn’t throw a single pitch in 2009 while recovering from a torn flexor tendon in his right elbow. But prior to last season, he was one of baseball’s best pitchers, making four All-Star teams with the Milwaukee Brewers.

When healthy, he’s a dominant pitcher with a  knee-buckling 12-to-6 curveball to complement a good fastball, but it remains to be seen how effective both pitches will be this season. He’s only thrown for scouts once and while he was impressive, he’s also a pitcher with a history of injuries coming off a serious elbow injury.

Oakland has a good, young pitching staff and probably didn’t need to add Sheets, but the team had found itself with money to spend after striking out in free agency trying to add a bat. And with the AL West looking as wide-open as it has in years, the Athletics might have felt a little pressure to spend and make a push in 2010.