As Suddenly Face A Youth Movement Test Nobody Wanted

With two key players on the injured list, the Oakland A's call upon rising talent as they reshape their roster.

The Athletics made a batch of roster moves Monday, putting Jacob Wilson and Tyler Soderstrom on the injured list while adding infielder Joshua Kuroda-Grauer, right-hander Kade Morris and infielder Darell Hernaiz from Triple-A Las Vegas.

Wilson was placed on the 10-day IL retroactive to June 26 because of right thumb inflammation. Soderstrom went on the 10-day IL retroactive to June 28 with a left hip impingement. Left-handed pitcher José Suarez was moved to the paternity list, and right-hander Michael Kelly was designated for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.

Kuroda-Grauer is set to make his Major League debut. The A’s selected the 23-year-old in the third round of the 2024 First-Year Player Draft, and he’s now the third player from that class to reach the majors for Oakland, joining Nick Kurtz and Gage Jump.

He opened the season at Double-A Midland before moving up to Las Vegas on May 11, and the numbers at every stop have been loud. In 75 minor league games this year, he’s hit .323 with seven homers, 44 RBI, 15 steals and an .845 OPS.

He also leads all of Minor League Baseball in hits with 109, sits second in runs with 76 and is tied for fifth in doubles with 23. Across three minor league seasons, he’s a .309 hitter with nine home runs, 99 RBI, 47 stolen bases and a .777 OPS.

MLB.com ranks him as the A’s ninth-best prospect.

Morris is back with Oakland for a second time this season. He was called up June 2, started June 6 at Houston and took the loss before being optioned back to Las Vegas on June 9.

Since returning to the Aviators, the 24-year-old right-hander has gone 2-1 with a 4.26 ERA in three starts. Overall at Triple-A, he’s 7-5 with a 5.16 ERA and a .861 opponents OPS in 15 starts.

Hernaiz is also getting a second look with the big club. He broke camp on the A’s Opening Day roster, hit .237 with a home run, seven RBI and a .606 OPS in 47 games before being optioned June 8, then batted .279 with three doubles, six RBI and a .714 OPS in 16 games for Las Vegas.

Wilson’s IL stint is his second of the season. He previously missed time from May 11 to June 9 after a left shoulder subluxation. In 50 games with the A’s, he’s batting .277 with four home runs, 26 RBI and a .696 OPS.

Soderstrom has been one of Oakland’s more productive bats, hitting .242 with 20 doubles, two triples, 13 home runs, 41 RBI and an .803 OPS in 80 games. He is tied for eighth in the majors in doubles and tied for 13th in extra-base hits with 35.

Suarez, acquired from Seattle on May 14, has made 17 relief appearances with the A’s and is 1-1 with a 4.01 ERA in that span. In 26 games overall with Oakland, Seattle and Atlanta, he’s 1-2 with a 5.02 ERA and a .811 opponents OPS.

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