TAMPA -- Athletics shortstop Jacob Wilson’s All-Star push had to take a brief pause due to right hamstring soreness that caused him to be a late scratch from Tuesday night’s 4-3 victory over the Rays.
The lineup change was revealed about two hours before first pitch by manager Mark Kotsay, who described the decision to as more of a precautionary move rather than a long-term concern. Wilson, who pushed ahead of Yankees slugger Aaron Judge with his 34th multihit game -- the most in the Majors -- in Monday’s victory over Tampa Bay with a single and a ground-rule double, woke up Tuesday morning feeling some discomfort in his hamstring area.
“He came in and got some treatment but felt like it didn’t really loosen up,” Kotsay said. “He probably could go. But out of caution, we’re going to take him out of the lineup.”
Wilson dealt with a similar issue in his left hamstring last month. Scratched from the lineup against the Angels at Angel Stadium on June 10, Wilson missed two games before returning to action on June 13 against the Royals in Kansas City.
Having played in 81 of the A’s first 87 games this season, Wilson has already matched his total number of combined games played in the Minors and Majors from last season. While Wilson addressed his injury concerns from last year by adding muscle and incorporating a new strength program this offseason, the A’s are also going through a grueling stretch of nine consecutive games without an off-day, which followed a stretch of games on 10 consecutive days from June 13-22.
With a day game on Wednesday and an off-day on Thursday, there’s a chance the A’s could look to give Wilson an extra couple of days of rest. Max Schuemann got the start at short in Wilson’s place for Tuesday night’s game, and would likely continue filling in for however long Wilson is out.
“This is game eight of nine, and [Wilson’s] played every game,” Kotsay said. “Again, this is something we’re going to have to continue to follow and manage. … It’s a 12 o’clock day game tomorrow. We’ll assess how he feels throughout the night and into tomorrow.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, Wilson held the lead over Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. at American League shortstop in the latest update of Phase 2 voting for the 2025 MLB All-Star Game.
Voting ends Wednesday at 9 a.m. PT, and should Wilson come out on top, he would make history by becoming the first-ever fan-elected rookie shortstop to start an All-Star Game. The 23-year-old would also be the first A’s shortstop to start an All-Star game since Bert Campaneris in 1974, and the first A’s starting position player in the Midsummer Classic since Josh Donaldson in 2014.
Wilson has certainly positioned himself well for his first All-Star nod. Entering Tuesday, he ranked second in the Majors in hits (108) and batting average (.339), trailing only the defending AL MVP Judge in those categories. He also continues to perform as the runaway favorite for AL Rookie of the Year, leading all Major League rookies in hits, batting average, on-base percentage (.380), slugging (.473), OPS (.853), runs (42) and RBIs (40), while 25 extra-base hits were tied for second-most.
“That’s pretty impressive,” Kotsay said. “I read that this morning, and that stood out. Being the first rookie shortstop to be voted in by the fans would be quite an honor and recognition. There’s a lot of good shortstops in the American League right now. You look at Bobby Witt, [Jeremy] Peña with the Astros, and there’s a lot more. For Jacob to be in that category says a lot about the season he’s having right now.”