Josh Reddick is still sidelined with a wrist injury, but Friday’s news from the Oakland Athletics was very encouraging.

The outfielder took twenty swings during batting practice before the team’s game with the Houston Astros and showed no ill effects, spraying line drives all over Minute Maid Park (according to A’s MLB.com writer Jane Lee).

Assuming he has another good day of BP on Saturday, it’s expected that Reddick will head to the team’s Single-A affiliate Stockton Ports on Monday and Tuesday for some rehab games before re-joining the A’s next weekend.

This is a good development in Reddick’s injury situation. A week or so ago, some feared he may have needed surgery on the wrist, which would likely have put him out of service for at least a month or maybe two. The team was hopeful he wouldn’t have to go down that path, and Friday’s update seems to confirm that the team’s hopes for a best-case scenario came true.

In Reddick’s absence, Coco Crisp and Chris Young have shared the outfield with Yoenis Cespedes — and it definitely paid off on Friday, when Young’s three-run home run in the 9th inning propelled the A’s to a come-from-behind win.

Reddick was only hitting .152 with one home run and an OPS of .516 before his injury — he had been off to a pretty disappointing start offensively this season. Of course, there’s always the chance that the wrist injury led to his decline in productivity, so hopefully he’ll come off the D.L. healthy and be the kind of offensive threat that he was in 2012.

Adrian Garro is an Oakland Athletics writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter and/or add him to your network on Google.