A's Left-Hander Undergoes Right Knee Surgery

What options do the A's have if Sean Newcomb isn't ready for camp?

The Oakland A's have announced that lefty Sean Newcomb underwent successful right knee arthroscopic surgery on Wednesday with Dr. Will Workman at Webster Surgery Center. Dr. Workman performed a medial meniscectomy to resolve lingering right knee discomfort felt while Newcomb was rehabilitating his previous left knee surgery. 

Dr. Workman also performed Newcomb's left knee lateral meniscus repair surgery back in September at the same facility in San Ramon. This makes two knee surgeries, one on each side, in the span of three months. 

Per the press release, Sean Newcomb is expected to be ready to participate in Spring Training.

The phrasing here is interesting. Newcomb is expected to be ready to participate in, not that he'll be ready for, Spring Training. Reading that specific languages makes it seem as though he's expected to be ready at some point during camp, but not necessarily at the beginning. 

Newcomb tossed 15 innings for the A's while holding a 3.00 ERA after coming over in a trade with the San Francisco Giants for outfielder Trenton Brooks. He even got a shot at carving out a rotation spot in his last two appearances, tossing a combined seven innings and allowing four earned. It was at that point that he needed the first knee surgery.

This second surgery and the timeline makes it all the more likely that Newcomb is destined for the bullpen, without a full camp to stretch out his arm. 

With that being the case, Newcomb may only need between five and nine innings to be ready for Opening Day. 

If Newcomb isn't ready to start the regular season, that could put them in a tough pickle with Kyle Muller, who is out of options, being the only other projected left-hander in the bullpen at the moment. JP Sears is also the only starter projected for the rotation with Ken Waldichuk's status uncertain, so it's not as simple as moving guys around and moving someone to long-relief like they did with Adam Oller and Adrián Martínez to begin the year in 2023 either. 

Depending on the length of time Newcomb would miss to start the season, the A's could go with the pitcher that just misses that fifth rotation spot and place them in the bullpen for a couple of weeks, or if it's more of a long-term absence, then they may have to look at other left-handers in the system. 

Reliever Francisco Pérez and starter Hogan Harris, both of whom were with the A's in '23, are the only other left-handers on the 40-man roster aside from Brady Basso, who reached Double-A last season.