The A's have been ravaged by injuries since the end of June in a series of events that began in San Francisco, and have continued every few days through the middle of August. Zack Gelof has had two stints on the IL since that trip, while Jacob Wilson has been on the IL and nursing various injuries since he dislocated his left shoulder.
Wilson and Gelof are hanging in to varying degrees, but on Tuesday, Tyler Soderstrom joined the long list of players that are now out for the season, with Martín Gallegos reporting that the left fielder will undergo hip surgery on Friday.
Nick Kurtz is likely done for the season, while Shea Langeliers is hoping to get into a few games at DH following his own surgery before the end of the year. Both players represented the A's at the All-Star game this year.
Two-time All-Star Brent Rooker underwent his own season-ending surgery in early July, while Luis Severino doesn't appear to have enough time to rejoin the A's this season. Relief pitchers Mark Leiter Jr. and Justin Sterner have also undergone season-ending surgery, while there is no timetable for rookie Joshua Kuroda-Grauer due to the nature of his injury.
All of these injuries to key pieces — especially on offense — have hurt the club this season. The offense was supposed to be the biggest strength of the club and it has been playing without a full complement of its star bats for much of the season.
The hope for the team here is that this time will be used to help rest up and get ready for a different kind of season in 2027.
The Hidden Silver Lining
This is a lost season and the final six weeks are going to be spent finding pieces that can help next season. We know that the injured players — at least the ones that will be on the club next season — will be the main group of players to propel the A's in 2027.
But the guys that are getting playing time right now will be getting a fair look too, with a chance to carve out a roster spot.
More precisely, when Soderstrom landed on the IL, Darell Hernaiz was called up to take his spot on the 26-man roster. With him headed for surgery, he can be moved to the 60-day IL and create another space on the 40-man roster for another player.
That could be used for a waiver claim in the short term to give someone a quick look. The medium-term answer is that the roster spot will likely go back to Denzel Clarke, who is beginning his rehab assignment in Triple-A Las Vegas on Tuesday night.
He'll be ramping up for a few weeks; he's been out of action since April 20 with a bone bruise on his right foot. Once he's good to go, seeing him and Henry Bolte in action side-by-side could give the A's a look at a potential outfield combination for next season.
While losing players for the season isn't ideal, given the A's position in the standings at this point in the year, the entire focus is on next season, and each injury creates a new opportunity for someone else — both inside and outside of the organization.