The 2024 season is over for a pair of A’s starters. Manager Mark Kotsay told reporters on Thursday that right-hander Luis Medina will undergo Tommy John surgery next month. Meanwhile, veteran southpaw Alex Wood is headed for a shoulder procedure to address rotator cuff tendinitis (via the MLB.com injury tracker).
Neither development is all that surprising. The A’s announced earlier this week that Medina had suffered ligament damage in his elbow. While he went for additional evaluation in the hope of avoiding surgery, that’s generally something of a long shot. Medina is now set to miss most or all of next season.
Acquired as part of the Frankie Montas trade with the Yankees, Medina has pitched in parts of two seasons for Oakland. He turned in a 5.42 ERA across 109 2/3 innings as a rookie. The 25-year-old made eight starts this year, allowing 5.18 earned runs per nine through 40 frames. He struck out 17.8% of opponents while walking more than 11% of batters faced. Medina will collect service time while he’s on the injured list. The A’s can move him to the 60-day IL during the season to open a spot on the 40-man roster. They’ll need to put him back on the 40-man or waive him next winter.
Wood signed an $8.5MM free agent deal in February. The A’s were hoping for a rebound year from the veteran southpaw, who could have been a midseason trade chip if healthy. That unfortunately was not to be. Wood pitched nine times, allowing a 5.26 ERA over 39 1/3 innings. He posted subpar strikeout and walk numbers before going on the IL in mid-May. Oakland transferred him to the 60-day injured list a few weeks later.
It’s a third straight disappointing season for Wood, who last managed a sub-4.00 ERA with the Giants in 2021. He’ll return to free agency at the start of the offseason and turns 34 in January. It’s possible he’s limited to minor league offers heading into next season. The A’s didn’t provide much detail on the nature of the shoulder surgery nor specify whether Wood is expected to be ready for Spring Training.
Wood and Stripling.
Half our Salary Cap wasted on these two 5th Starters that can’t stay healthy.
Terrible waste of Funds on the Team with the Lowest Payroll in Baseball.
The horror.
they had an ex-Giants and/or Dodgers reunion party there.
Throw in another 2.2m on Scott Alexander, 1.5m Trevor Gott, sunk cost of JD Davis 1.1m.
Worst value for the money was Alelmys Diaz $8m who is now stinking up the joint in Houston.
Yeah, I was perplexed when the Astros picked Diaz up again. Sure, he was liked in the clubhouse when he was here, but he’s cooked this season. Also seems to injure his groin a bunch somehow, happened like 3 times here in Houston.
@DataShark-You’re absolutely right about Diaz. That was one of the worst Free Agent signings from a few years ago. I could not believe how much the A’s gave him, especially considering how frugal they typically are in terms of signing free agents. Diaz was absolutely horrendous for the Astros during their playoffs run to winning the WS. Obviously, the A’s front office weren’t paying any attention to his performance.
Let the tanking begin…again!
Funky Cold…
Manfred Surgery
Damn. As a Yankee fan, I wanted Medina to thrive. I was so upset when we included him in the Montas trade. I saw him as a Stroman clone (even wore the durag under the hat).
Hopefully he can come back in *gulp* 2026 ready to roll!