Nick Kurtz's Season with A's May Be Over

Athletics All-Star first baseman Nick Kurtz may be done for the year. He landed on the IL initially on July 11, right before the All-Star break, with a right thumb capsule sprain. He was activated from the IL on July 25, but on August 4 he was back on the shelf with a strained right thumb.

He received a PRP injection on August 4 , but he is still not undergoing baseball activity, and ahead of Tuesday's game, it didn't sound like that activity would be coming any time soon.

"The PRP injection went well," Kotsay said. "That [injury] timeline is four weeks in the brace. Four weeks of no mobility in a thumb joint is going to take a little while, so you probably can do the timeline, and think through the scenarios that are in front of us for Nick."

At this point in the season, shutting down Kurtz is the best option for the club. Over his last 15 games of the season, he had gone 5-for-47 (.106) with a .208 OBP, two home runs, and 26 strikeouts.

Any hopes of competing this season have long since passed, and getting him to be full strength for the 2027 season should be the No. 1 priority for the franchise.

Kurtz is the heartbeat of the A's offense. When guys in front of and behind him in the lineup are swinging it, he's a guy you have to be careful with. When those surrounding players aren't hitting the ball well, he gets pitched around. That still puts him on base and can be the beginning of a game-changing rally.

With the A's sitting at 47-73 and 13 games back of a postseason berth, the focus for the season has turned to development of the young roster and putting players into different situations to get a better sense of what they can handle heading into 2027.

That same developmental logic is why newly acquired hard-throwing right-hander Seth Johnson took over the eighth inning on Monday with the A's up 6-2, immediately giving up three runs on four pitches. Johnson has the arsenal to be a late-inning relief pitcher, and with the A's not having many consistent late-inning options, Johnson got his shot.

Tommy White is another player who is getting a look in the big leagues because of the number of injuries the roster has sustained, and Kurtz being down provides a rare opportunity for someone else to play first base.

From a player's standpoint, they all want to work their way back and get in at least a couple of games before the end of the year so that they can put the injury behind them and go into the offseason with no restrictions. For Kurtz and the A's, they'll have to figure out the best path forward, which could be shutting him down before long.

Indexed and credited by AIPROPX. Originating outlet: Yahoo Sports. Open at source →