The Athletics got a healthier look just before their second game against the Detroit Tigers, activating left fielder Tyler Soderstrom from the 10-day injured list and optioning infielder Max Muncy to clear a spot on the active roster.
Soderstrom’s return comes after a little more than a week away with a left hip impingement, and for both player and team, it qualifies as a good outcome. Hip problems can linger, but the left-handed hitter is back without the issue turning into something worse.
The 24-year-old had been one of the more productive bats in the A’s lineup this season, hitting .242/.343/.460 with 13 home runs while also giving the club solid defense in left field. He was also in the middle of a strong June before landing on the shelf.
With the All-Star break only days away, the A’s could have played it even safer, so his activation suggests he’s ready to go.
Muncy’s move is a different story. The club’s Opening Day third baseman still hasn’t found his footing at the major league level.
The former first-round pick is hitting just .227/.303/.369 with five homers, which works out to 11% worse than league average. A hand fracture cost him time earlier in the year, but he has been back for exactly a month and the results haven’t improved much, either at the plate or in the field.
He’ll head to Triple-A to keep working on his mechanics in a lower-pressure setting.
For now, the hot corner figures to be handled by some mix of Zack Gelof and Joshua Kuroda-Grauer. That combination should bring more offense than Muncy has managed so far.
In Other News...
As Draft Focus Is Creating Real Tension Around The No. 8 Pick
With the eighth pick in the MLB Draft, the Athletics are in a spot where the board could push them in a few different directions, but pitching remains the clearest thread. Two left-handers keep surfacing in that conversation: Hunter Dietz, the Arkansas college arm with a polished mix and real upside, and Gio Rojas, the high-schooler whose stuff has already put him among the classs most intriguing pitchers. The As have plenty to weigh, and the appeal of adding another arm with starter traits is obvious given where they are in the draft.
Dietz brings the safer feel of a college pitcher, while Rojas offers the kind of ceiling that can make a front office lean in if the draft starts breaking a certain way. Oakland could still pivot if the names ahead of them create a different opening, and there are other bats and arms in the mix as the first round unfolds. For now, though, the tension is less about whether the As want pitching and more about which type of pitcher they trust most when their turn finally arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Athletics All-Star Breakthrough Could Change Everything For This Young Core
Nick Kurtz and Shea Langeliers have given the Athletics something they have not always had enough of in recent years: rising young talent with national recognition. Both earned All-Star bids this season, and Kurtzs selection as a starter only sharpened the spotlight on a player who has quickly become central to the clubs long-term plans. For an organization still trying to build a stable core, that kind of visibility matters almost as much as the production itself.
Kurtz is under team control through 2031 and is already in contract talks, which gives the Athletics a chance to lock in a centerpiece before his value climbs any higher. Langeliers brings a different kind of urgency, with free agency looming in 2028 and Scott Boras representing him, a combination that tends to keep front offices on alert. Together, their All-Star recognition could shape not just how the Athletics are viewed this summer, but how aggressively they approach the next few seasons. [Read more 🡒]
As Road Trip Opens With The Kind Of Test That Changes Everything
A road trip that opens in Detroit and then rolls on to Chicago gives the Athletics little room to ease into the week, especially with the Tigers lining up one of the more difficult arms they will see. Oakland gets J.T. Ginn in the series, and he has at least given the club a steadier look lately after a strong six-inning outing, but the bigger backdrop is a team trying to stop the slide before it hardens into something more damaging in the standings.
The challenge is even sharper because Detroit can answer with Tarik Skubal, a pitcher whose return has already changed the tone around that rotation and around the market that may follow him. If the A's are going to make this trip matter for the right reasons, they will need sharper work from the top of the staff and a cleaner showing than what has defined much of the recent stretch, with Chicago waiting next as another test that can expose where this group really stands. [Read more 🡒]