The Athletics made a pair of roster moves Tuesday, placing right-hander Mark Leiter Jr. on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to July 19, because of a right hip impingement, and sending infielder Joshua Kuroda-Grauer to the 10-day IL after surgery for a ruptured testicle.
Hayden Juenger and Max Muncy were recalled in the corresponding moves.
Leiter’s injury lands at a rough time for both player and club. He’s an impending free agent, and the A’s sit at 43-57 and 8.5 games out of a playoff spot, which puts them in seller mode with the August 3 deadline approaching. That made Leiter one of the more obvious trade candidates on a roster that doesn’t have many.
His track record this stretch has been a strange mix. Since the start of 2022, Leiter has worked 272 innings with a 28% strikeout rate, an 8.5% walk rate and a 45.9% ground ball rate, all of which are solid numbers.
But the results haven’t followed, as he’s posted a 4.17 ERA over that span. A .311 batting average on balls in play and a 13.6% home run to fly ball rate have helped keep that ERA elevated.
Over a short sample, that can look like bad luck. Over several seasons, it becomes harder to call it that.
This is also the second time this year that a right hip impingement has sent Leiter to the injured list.
Kuroda-Grauer’s situation was much more severe. He fouled a ball off himself last night and was visibly in pain, then stayed in the game and somehow finished the at-bat by lining a single into center field.
He was later taken out and required surgery. The timeline for his return is unclear, but the injury is serious enough to point to a recovery period.
Muncy now gets another chance in the majors after being optioned earlier this month. Before that move, he hit .227/.303/.396 and drew poor defensive grades at third base.
In Other News...
As Suddenly Have A Scary New Injury Concern With Kuroda-Grauer
Kuroda-Grauers rapid start has been one of the more encouraging developments for the Athletics since his MLB debut, which is why his latest trip through a game against the D-backs drew immediate attention. The rookie has been performing well enough to put himself firmly on the radar, and the As have had plenty of reason to keep watching how his bat and glove translate as he settles into the majors.
The concern arrived after he fouled a ball off his groin during the game, then stayed in briefly before being replaced on defense in the sixth inning. Oakland announced the injury afterward, and while the club has not yet offered a longer-term update, any pause for a player who has been producing this well is enough to make his status worth monitoring closely. [Read more 🡒]
As Forced Into Another Painful Roster Shakeup After Brutal Injury Night
The Athletics were forced into another roster shuffle after a rough stretch on the injury front, placing right-hander Mark Leiter on the 15-day injured list retroactive to July 19 with a right hip impingement and sending infielder Joshua Kuroda-Grauer to the 10-day injured list. To help cover the openings, Oakland recalled right-hander Hayden Juenger from Triple-A Las Vegas and brought back infielder Max Muncy, who had been optioned earlier this month.
For an As club already trying to piece together innings and infield depth, the timing is especially unwelcome. Juenger gives Oakland another fresh arm after arriving in a trade, while Muncy returns for a second stint with the big-league club, but the larger concern is how quickly the roster keeps changing around injuries that have already forced the team to keep adjusting on the fly. [Read more 🡒]