Athletics shortstop Jacob Wilson will undergo a left shoulder surgery on September 16, MLB.com’s Martin Gallegos reports. The news comes after Gallegos’ report nine days ago that Wilson’s season was likely going to be ended by his lingering shoulder problem, and the A’s made things official by placing Wilson first on the 10-day injured list and then on the 60-day IL within the last week.
Some type of rehab timeline should be established once the procedure actually happens, and Gallegos noted that Zach Gelof underwent a similar type of surgery last September. Gelof’s recovery process didn’t cost him much of the 2026 campaign, as he was able to start Spring Training game action by mid-March and was called up from Triple-A early in April after the A’s started him in the minors to complete the ramp-up process.
Every player recovers at their own pace, of course, so there’s no guarantee that Wilson will be able to return as relatively smoothly as Gelof. Wilson’s timeline could also be impacted by the longer-term nature of his shoulder problem, which began in May when Wilson suffered a sprain while diving to cut off a Gunnar Henderson grounder. The A’s activated Wilson from the IL after about a month, but more shoulder soreness developed in August, and Wilson hasn’t played since August 16.
Wilson also had a minimal 10-day IL stint in late June and early July while dealing with right thumb inflammation, so he appeared in only 80 games and took 337 trips to the plate in his abbreviated 2026 campaign. It is easy to point to Wilson’s injuries for his underwhelming numbers, as he followed up his All-Star rookie season in 2025 by hitting a modest .266/.298/.388 in his 337 PA this year, even while playing home games at hitter-friendly Sutter Health Park.
It wasn’t what the A’s were hoping for after Wilson signed a $70MM contract extension last winter, though Wilson is only one of several Athletics hitters to get hurt during another losing year for the franchise. The hope is that this surgery will correct Wilson’s shoulder issues for good, paving the way for better health and a return to form in 2027.
