The A’s have reinstated outfielder Ramon Laureano from the 10-day injured list, the team announced. Outfielder Skye Bolt was optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding move.
A strained right hip sent Laureano to the IL on May 28 (retroactively), so he’ll return after missing just short of three weeks. The injury interrupted an excellent campaign for “Laser Ramon,” who was hitting .257/.332/.503 with 11 home runs over 205 plate appearances.
After an average 2020 season at the plate, this year’s performance is much closer to the numbers Laureano posted in 2018-19, increasingly his all-around value to Oakland. Laureano’s center field defense has been either around average (0 Outs Above Average, -1 Defensive Runs Saved) or better than average (+4.9 UZR/150) depending on your metric of choice, but Laureano has nonetheless been a big contributor to the Athletics’ rise to first place in the AL West.
Glad he’s back. Having a great year so far.
Any idea where he stands, contract wise? I assume he is at least arbitration eligible now, but is he close to free agency? He might be yet another in a long list of A’s who is traded before he gets to free agency because the A’s don’t want to pay him. He’s a great player and he’d do very well in the open market. I wonder why Oakland does not try to lock up their young players to long term deals early on. Are even those types of contracts too pricey for them? They have big decisions to make on Chapman and Olson soon. I don’t see how Oakland can trade either one of these guys and still retain a fan base. They eventually have to pay someone market rates to stick around, don’t they?
Click on name link, go down to salaries.
Laureano is a free agent after 2024 and the reason why they don’t extend these guys is because of the stadium situation. That’s why they are trying to solve it before the end of the year.
It also doesn’t help that John Fisher is a complete cheap a$$