The Athletics’ injury list keeps growing, and this time it’s J.T. Ginn heading to the 15-day IL with a right elbow impingement.
Ginn had already missed a start in the last series, and the A’s were hoping he could take the ball in Seattle against the Mariners in a game that would have carried some playoff implications. That never materialized, and the club decided to shut him down for now. The team also recalled Jack Perkins from Triple-A Las Vegas to take his place.
Ginn has been one of the more trusted arms on this staff and has even been talked about as a possible future pillar for the A’s rotation. For now, though, he joins a long list of sidelined players on a team whose season has gone far differently than expected after looking like a possible AL West contender earlier in the year.
The damage has been spread across the roster. On offense, the A’s lost both All-Stars, Shea Langeliers and Nick Kurtz, to season-ending injuries.
Jacob Wilson, Tyler Soderstrom and Joshua Kuroda-Grauer are also out for the year. The pitching side hasn’t been spared either, with ace Luis Severino done for the season after not appearing in a game since his start at the end of May.
The club is also opening the door for more young arms to get extended looks. After Morris’ outing against Seattle, he was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas, and Perkins came back up. Seth Johnson was also recalled from Vegas after Ginn landed on the IL.
Johnson, a former first-rounder, came over in the Colby Thomas deal on the day of the trade deadline this summer from the Phillies. He still hasn’t found success at the big-league level, but this stretch gives him a real chance to get work in. Perkins has been with the big-league club for almost the entire 2026 season, though his results haven’t been much better.
Ginn is feeling better today, and the A’s are leaving the door open for him to make one more start before the end of the season. Right now, the injury looks like one the club can afford to be careful with, especially with playoff hopes long out of reach. There’s no reason to push him and risk something worse that could carry into next year.
Right now, the A’s are just trying to piece together the rest of the season with what they have, and that means more chances for the younger, less experienced arms to prove themselves.
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The opening game sets up as a test of whether Oakland can scratch together enough early offense to avoid falling behind quickly, especially with Jacob Lopez lined up against Dylan Cease. The As do not need to be perfect to matter here, only stubborn enough to keep Toronto uncomfortable and force the Blue Jays into a game they would rather not play. If Oakland can find a way to get a better start than it has in recent series openers, the rest of the matchup starts to look a lot less routine for a team still trying to hold onto its postseason position. [Read more 🡒]
