The Oakland Athletics placed right-handed starting pitcher Brandon McCarthy on the 15-day disabled list yesterday with lingering shoulder issues, reports Ben Estes of MLB.com. The A’s called up right-hander A.J. Griffin from Triple-A to take McCarthy’s place in their starting rotation.

McCarthy has been dealing with shoulder problems for four of the past five seasons. The soreness has now caused him to miss time on four separate occasions in 2012, forcing him to the DL twice.

After having his start scratched roughly 10 days ago, McCarthy underwent an MRI which came back clean, showing no major damage to his shoulder. The 28-year-old came back to start last Tuesday, holding the Los Angeles Dodgers scoreless over seven strong innings of work.

Unfortunately for McCarthy and the A’s, the right-hander’s soreness returned and he was scratched from Saturday’s start. Oakland is expected to take things slow with McCarthy as they continue to determine what the issue is.

Over his 12 starts this season, McCarthy posted an ERA and WHIP of 2.54 and 1.205 with 6.0 SO/9 and 2.2 BB/9.

Griffin made his major league debut yesterday, allowing two runs on three hits over six innings to the San Francisco Giants, including a walk and four strikeouts. The 24-year-old maintained an ERA and WHIP of 2.66 and 0.908 over his 15 starts with the A’s Double- and Triple-A affiliates this season.