12:20pm: The A’s have also shut Tarnok down for the time being, tweets Gallegos. The 25-year-old experienced a “flare-up” in his surgically repaired right hip and isn’t throwing at the moment. Tarnok underwent surgery to repair the labrum and some cartilage in his hip last August.
With just over three weeks until Opening Day, this update likely takes Tarnok out of the mix for a rotation job. The former Braves farmhand, acquired as part of last offseason’s Sean Murphy trade, missed the first few months of the ’23 season with a shoulder strain and pitched only 36 1/3 innings between the minors and the big leagues last year. Baseball America ranked Tarnok 25th among Oakland prospects this season, noting that a lack of durability and sub-par command point more to a future in the bullpen than the rotation ceiling that looked viable earlier in the righty’s minor league tenure.
11:03am: Athletics righty Luis Medina will begin the season on the injured list after being diagnosed with a Grade 2 sprain of the medial collateral ligament in his right knee, manager Mark Kotsay announced this morning (X link via Martin Gallegos of MLB.com). Medina exited his most recent spring start with a knee sprain of unknown severity and was seen in the A’s clubhouse on crutches this morning. There’s no firm timetable for Medina’s return to the Oakland roster, but a Grade 2 sprain likely comes with an absence of some note.
Acquired alongside JP Sears and Ken Waldichuk in the trade that sent Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino from the A’s to the Yankees, Medina may have had the inside track on the Athletics’ fifth starter job this spring. Sears, Paul Blackburn and offseason pickups Alex Wood and Ross Stripling are locked into the top four spots, but Medina had more success in the majors than the remainder of the (non-Sears) pitchers the A’s have landed over the course of their current rebuild.
Looking strictly at last year’s 5.42 ERA in 109 2/3 innings, that might not seem to be the case, but Medina was shelled early in his debut campaign before finishing the year on a more solid stretch. Over his final 11 starts and four long-relief appearances, Medina pitched 70 2/3 frames with a 4.22 ERA, albeit with shakier secondary marks.
Medina averaged better than 96 mph on his heater and posted a quality 11.4% swinging-strike rate, but those positives were undercut by subpar command. The right-hander walked more than 11% of his opponents, and that lackluster command contributed to a below-average 21.6% strikeout rate that checks in lower than one would expect for a pitcher with Medina’s velocity and bat-missing ability.
Medina will join Waldichuk (flexor strain/UCL sprain) on the injured list to begin the season. That pair’s subtraction from the team’s Opening Day rotation mix creates some additional competition in camp. Oakland has already optioned rotation hopefuls Adrian Martinez, Hogan Harris and Osvaldo Bido to Triple-A. Righties Joe Boyle, Freddy Tarnok, Joey Estes and Royber Salinas are all still in camp and are all already on the 40-man roster, as is lefty Kyle Muller. Rule 5 right-hander Mitch Spence is also in the mix for a rotation spot.
julyn82001
Medina has talent you can see that… Plenty of young talented pitchers to replace Luis…
The Voices
Saw the word ‘sprain’ first before the rest of the headline and immediately assumed the article was about Mike Trout.
commentinggenius
I wouldn’t forget about you Kyle Muller!
Steve Adams
Agh, meant to include him. Thanks for pointing that out. Updated.
commentinggenius
Thanks for providing us readers with all these great articles Steve. Take care!
Unclemike1526
Call Jed. For the bargain basement price of 11 million bucks Drew Smyly can be yours. Then maybe you can even flip him at the deadline.
dano62
Popeye Doyle continues to look impressive…
Gwynning
Is there a (French) Connection here? Or is that just a hack, man?
zacharydmanprin
It doesn’t matter if A’s prospects have talent; the A’s cannot develop that talent or keep it healthy. Look at what happens when the A’s trade players away – Luzardo, Irvin and Puk are all thriving.
BrianStrowman9
Irvin pitched his best in Oakland so far.
Hernaiz was the minor leaguer of the year. I’m sure Elias would do that one over if he could. If only because Hernaiz could be used to get a better pitcher
WiffleBall
This makes the signing of Trevor Bauer a no-brainer!
A'sfaninLondonUK
@WiffleBall
Even Fisher et al, would avoid the car crash of Bauer…
A 10 year 300 million signing of Monty is more likely…
But ypu made me giggle, good gag!
Deleted Userr
Why? We saw what happened when the Chiefs signed the SDSU punter. It was a story for like a day or two.
MLB Fanatic
Does Bauer run a troll (pro-Bauer) farm on this site? The sheer number of posts supporting his return to MLB is baffling.
BrianStrowman9
I’m not surprised that there’s a large amount of support for Bauer’s return. Not the craziest thing to see people on both sides of the coin for in the US.
ARC 2
Only way Fisher would sign Bauer if he agrees to pitch for nothing.
unpaidobserver
He’s already on board pitching for nothing; it’s the chicks for free that remains the problem.
Deleted Userr
@ARC 2 He did already.
Gwynning
This sucks for Medina, but at least it isn’t arm trouble. Still has massive Sleeper potential for FBB…
ARC 2
Even more bad news Las Vegas officials say the new stadium design can not work. Even 1 owner joked that Fisher has no idea what he is doing. A’s are in serious trouble ran by a fool.
MLB Fanatic
Exterior clad with metal and a gigantic glass wall. Good luck trying to keep the Sydney Las Vegas Opera House cool!
ARC 2
When its 120 outside watching people melt in their seats.