12:03pm: Pinder suffered the injury in a car crash on Saturday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. It seems Pinder’s in for a lengthy absence, as Slusser writes that “he won’t be allowed to swing for awhile” after receiving stitches on his elbow and arm.
10:47am: The Athletics announced that they’ve placed infielder/outfielder Chad Pinder on the 10-day disabled list, retroactive to Saturday, with a left elbow laceration. His roster spot will go to young infielder Franklin Barreto, whom the A’s recalled from Triple-A Nashville.
At 61-45 and one game out of a wild-card spot, the A’s have been among the game’s biggest surprises this season. Pinder has been a key part of their success, as the 26-year-old has enjoyed a career-best season to this point. The right-handed hitter has slashed .259/.332/.453 (116 wRC+) with 10 home runs and 1.4 fWAR across 236 plate appearances. Pinder has also seen action at several different positions, primarily left field, where he has posted six Defensive Runs Saved and a 4.1 Ultimate Zone Rating in 277 innings.
This is the second DL stint of the season for Pinder, who previously missed the minimum 10 days in April on account of a hyperextended left knee. It’s unclear how much time Pinder will sit out thanks to this injury, but regardless, his loss is an unwelcome development for Oakland. The good news is that the team will get another look at Barreto, whom Baseball America (subscription required) ranks as the majors’ 61st-best prospect.
A 22-year-old middle infielder, Barreto has totaled 134 major league PAs (including 58 this season) since 2017, though he has struggled to a .205/.246/.386 line with 57 strikeouts against six walks. Barreto also hasn’t produced inspiring results this year with Nashville, where he has put up a lofty 32.2 percent strikeout rate, but he has still hit a respectable .233/.347/.460 and shown off good power (11 home runs, .228 ISO) in 242 trips to the plate.
Dammit!
Damn, this is a big loss, and I really wish they’d replace Semien with Pinder at SS already, if Olson at 1B has been making Semien’s nightmare-level defense look good all year long, he help out Pinder there too. If the A’s make the playoffs, mark my words, Semien WILL make a stupid blunder that 90% of shortstops make all day. It’s mind boggling that the A’s are supposedly trying to contend with both Semien and Lucroy as regulars, they are both having absolutely horrible years to the eye. Metrics show them as being WAY better than they are. Pinder at least can hit even if he’s the same defensive SS as Semien.
I have not seen a lower IQ player than Semien in MLB. Guy CONSTANTLY makes self-imposed errors that most players would never do. He’s a total headcase and the biggest threat to Oakland’s success, and washed up Lucroy is right behind him.
Unfortunately Barton sold Billy Beane’s dirty picks to Semien and we are stuck with him for a while. Billy’s ego is killing us with his fascination for Semien.
It’s not Semien’s defense that is the true issue; he stinks at the plate. He’s a below average hitter and the A’s keep him in the leadoff spot.
Time to give Franklin Barreto more chances of playing to see what the kid’s talent is about! It’s a playoff run right now but regardless the youngster is talented…
Nah, he looks SO raw right now. The swing is way too long, he can’t take a walk to save his life and he’s not good enough to unseat Lowrie or Semien currently. He’s still 22 and has shown signs of promise so, he doesn’t have to do anything but sit on the bench and LEARN right now. It’s good to at least have him on the bench in the playoff run, to show him what his future will be like.
I totally agree. He can allow Lowerie, Semien and Chapman to get some much needed days off of, at least fielding. We will all miss Pinder, but it could
have been worse.
If you told Matt Chapman he “needed a day off from fielding” he might actually try and fight you.
Yup. I heard that he begs Melvin to pitch on a daily basis. Through out the grind he will get banged up, or Melvin may just make him take a day off for rest.
It’s absolutely crazy how good he is at defense. This is Ozzie-level quality. He’s been the best since Day 1 too, from his first game he looked all-World. Respect to Simmons, he’s right there, but damn, a new King has shown himself.
Yup. We were blessed to get to see Chavez and JD. Chappy is on another level.