The Athletics ended up releasing three separate lineups on Monday, and shortstop Jacob Wilson was in the first two, with the only real change being that Zack Gelof moved from left field to DH, while Carlos Cortes moved in the opposite direction.
In that third lineup, Jacob Wilson was scratched due to what the team has deemed left shoulder soreness. This is an injury that the club has been managing throughout most of the season, after Wilson dislocated his shoulder back on May 10. He missed about a month recovering from that injury and will need to get it taken care of in the offseason.
"He came up, tried to hit today and couldn't really get full range of motion," A's manager Mark Kotsay said after the game. "He's day-to-day."
The A's skipper confirmed that there is a possibility he could play on Tuesday in Kansas City.
Move in the Rotation IncomingJeffrey Springs is set to rejoin the rotation this week, with the A's projected starters for both Wednesday and Thursday currently listed as TBD. With the veteran left-hander making his lone rehab appearance on Friday, that would put him in line to be ready for Wednesday if the A's want to keep him on schedule, or Thursday if they want to give him an extra day.
The assumption here is that Gage Jump will start one of those games, with Springs taking the other. However, the club could push him back to pitch in Houston over the weekend, though the Royals are worse against left-handed pitching, boasting a 92 wRC+ which ranks them 22nd in MLB, compared to Houston's 98 (12th).
Houston is also the fifth-most homer-friendly ballpark in baseball over the past three seasons — fourth this season — while Kauffman Stadium ranks as average this season (15th), and 26th over the past three years.
With Springs coming back, someone will have to exit the rotation, and given Monday night's results, that may be Mason Barnett. The right-hander lasted just 2 ⅔ innings, gave up seven hits, six earned runs, walked four, and struck out two. His ERA on the season sits at 7.08, while his ERA over his four starts has been 10.69.
"Really no command," Kotsay said when asked what he saw from Barnett's performance on Monday. "We hurt ourselves in the first. We gave away too many bases. A wild pitch gave up two bases. The throw from Butler gave up an extra base. Obviously not great command, and really just not a great outing today from Mason."
Coming off three straight games where the starter gave the team a chance to win and showed the blueprint for this club to be successful, Monday's performance was reflective of how the team has looked recently when things aren't going well.
The A's have had some leniency when a starter underperforms on occasion, but when they combine underperformance with a lack of innings, that is when the club tends to make a move.
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