Miguel Andujar to Miss Rest of 2024 Season

Jason Burke | Aug 29, 2024

Aug 23, 2024; Oakland, California, USA; Oakland Athletics left fielder Miguel Andujar (22) before the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports / Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

After missing the past couple of games, Miguel Andujar was placed on the IL on Wednesday with a core muscle injury. Oakland A's manager Mark Kotsay told reporters before the game that the injury would be season-ending.

"Miguel has been playing with this issue for a few weeks. It's a credit to Miguel and a testament to the character of the young man, really, to continue to play. It got to a point where [he] was uncomfortable sleeping and impacted his daily life as well. We are going to miss him. He was a big contributor and a big part of this club's success over the last few months. We look forward to having him next year."

With Andujar missing three games now, Daz Cameron has started each of those contests in left field, going 2-for-10 with an RBI and five strikeouts. Kotsay said that he will be in left for now, but that the team also likes to play matchups, and that they'd be looking at the roster a bit, mentioning both Tyler Nevin and Seth Brown as potential options for playing time in the outfield.

A third option to consider once rosters expand in September could be No. 7 prospect Colby Thomas. The 23-year-old has had a solid season split between Double-A Midland and Triple-A Las Vegas, batting a cumulative .275 with a .342 OBP and 25 homers.

The one big caveat here would be that Thomas is not currently on the A's 40-man roster and would need to be added. While that could be an easy fix in the short-term by just placing Andujar on the 60-day IL since his injury is season-ending, the off-season implications could make it so that Oakland goes a different route on Sunday.

Basically it boils down to the number of roster spots the organization feels they'll have available in November ahead of the Rule 5 deadline. They already have Ken Waldichuk and Luis Medina who will need to be added back to the 40-man from the 60-day IL, along with adding any Rule 5 eligible players that they'd like to protect.

Thomas is not Rule 5 eligible until the 2025 offseason, so he doesn't need a roster spot until the A's feel confident that he's ready for the big leagues.

With that being the case, the only outfield option currently on the 40-man is former first baseman Ryan Noda. While in Las Vegas this season, he has played 50 games at first, 42 in right field, and even four in center. He could be an option for the team to consider this weekend, and calling him up wouldn't require another player to potentially be left off the 40-man this winter.

Oakland could also just run with Brown and Nevin in the outfield as extra options, and recall Darell Hernaiz, Brett Harris, or the newly acquired Tristan Gray, whom the A's will likely need to make a decision on in the next month or so anyway. The A's have a few options to consider with September rigth around the corner.