The Athletics announced that right-hander Mark Leiter Jr. has been placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to July 19, due to a right hip impingement. Infielder Joshua Kuroda-Grauer has been put on the 10-day IL due to surgery for a ruptured testicle. Righty Hayden Juenger and infielder Max Muncy have been recalled in corresponding moves.
Leiter has spent several years putting up mediocre surface-level numbers with better marks under the hood. Dating back to the start of 2022, he has thrown 272 innings with a strong 28% strikeout rate, roughly average 8.5% walk rate and above-average 45.9% ground ball rate.
Despite all those average or better numbers, he has an unimpressive 4.17 ERA in that span. His .311 batting average on balls in play and 13.6% home run to fly ball rate are both on the high side. In a small sample, that might point to some poor fortune. But over several years, it becomes harder to believe that his luck will even out.
Leiter is an impending free agent. The A’s are 43-57 and 8.5 games back of a playoff spot, putting them in seller position ahead of the August 3 deadline. Leiter would have been one of the few straightforward trade candidates on a roster that doesn’t have many. His value would have been marginal in the first place, given his results. This IL stint won’t help, especially since it’s the second time this year that a right hip impingement has put him on the shelf.
As for Kuroda-Grauer, his injury is far less routine and much more unpleasant. As shown in this clip from Jomboy Media, he fouled a ball off himself last night and was in obvious pain. Now in hindsight, it seems he ruptured his testicle at that moment. Despite that, he stayed in to finish the at-bat and hit a single into center field. He was later removed from the game and apparently required surgery. It’s unclear how long he’ll be out but it seems fair to expect some recovery time from such a gruesome injury.
Though it’s under unpleasant circumstances, Muncy will get some more playing time in the big leagues. He hit .227/.303/.396 with poor defensive grades at third base until he was optioned to the minors earlier this month.
Photo courtesy of Matt Marton, Imagn Images
