Miguel Andujar, Sean Newcomb added to A's injury woes
Injuries have not been kind to the Oakland A's this spring. A day after the club announced that reliever Trevor Gott would undergo Tommy John surgery, Martín Gallegos of MLB.com said that outfielder Miguel Andujar (right knee) and reliever Sean Newcomb (left knee) would start the 2024 campaign on the IL.
Andujar apparently felt some discomfort in his right leg while playing the field, which led to an MRI that revealed a torn meniscus. He'll undergo surgery on March 27 and the best-case timeframe for him to return is four to six weeks.
Newcomb had surgery on each of his knees during the offseason, and after pitching in four spring games from March 10-20 started experiencing some irritation in his left knee. There is no timetable for his return just yet.
With Newcomb, Gott, and Scott Alexander currently on the shelf to begin the year, the A's are without three of their top relief options. Newcomb and Alexander were to serve as the veteran left-handed options, while Gott was going to be a late inning right-hander alongside Mason MIller, Lucas Erceg, and Dany Jiménez.
With that trio unavailable for Opening Day, the A's will likely be turning to Michael Kelly, who has some big-league experience and was also tabbed as a reliever that could see some innings this season. Last year with the Cleveland Guardians he posted a 3.78 ERA with a 2.96 FIP. He has allowed one earned run in nine innings this spring.
In addition to Kelly we'll likely see Tyler Ferguson, who has yet to allow an earned run this spring in 7 2/3 innings pitched. In fact, he hasn't allowed an earned run in spring training since 2020 when he was a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ferguson, 30, has yet to make his MLB debut.
The replacement for Andujar is going to be a bit more interesting. They could go the very straightforward route and name Hoy Park, who is batting .500 through 42 plate appearances in camp, replacing an outfielder with an outfielder. The thing is, the A's will have five outfielders on the roster already in Esteury Ruiz, JJ Bleday, Seth Brown, Lawrence Butler, and Brent Rooker. They don't necessarily need a sixth outfielder if they can fill depth elsewhere.
It'll probably be Park, but it doesn't have to be.
It should also be noted that with the number of injuries the A's are dealing with, they also need to add a couple of non-roster invitees to the 40-man to fill those spots. Trevor Gott has yet to be placed on the 60-day IL, so that takes care of one spot, but how long they're expecting other injured players to be out could determine if the club needs to DFA another player or two to make room for Park, Ferguson, and whomever the team decides to make their backup catcher.
We talked about the A's potentially looking to add Joey Bart at the end of camp just a couple of days ago, and he may still be the best option for the team in the short-term. He's not going to make the Giants' roster, and he's out of options. The question becomes whether the A's try to land him on the waiver wire, or if they feel a need to make a trade for him, if they want him.
The A's roster is going to be shaken up in the coming days.