WEST SACRAMENTO -- Once again, the Athletics will have to navigate life without Jacob Wilson for an extended period.
The All-Star rookie shortstop was placed on the 10-day injured list on Tuesday (retroactive to Saturday) with a fractured left forearm, and it’s unclear how long he’ll be out. Manager Mark Kotsay said the A’s are very optimistic Wilson will return this season, but it’s unlikely to be a minimum 10-day IL stint.
"I don’t want to put a timeline on anything,” Kotsay said before Tuesday’s 6-1 win over the Mariners at Sutter Health Park.
Wilson had been out of the lineup since Saturday, nursing a left hand injury dating back to a hit-by-pitch July 8 against the Braves. X-rays at the time were negative, and Wilson was diagnosed with a contusion.
He missed three games before returning July 12 and playing twice before the All-Star break, then started six straight games after the break before sitting on Thursday. He returned to action on Friday in Houston but has not played since.
Now, he’ll likely be sidelined for at least several weeks, which wouldn’t be Wilson’s first long absence since reaching the Major Leagues: He suffered a left hamstring strain in his MLB debut last season and missed more than a month. Wilson has also missed four games this year with right hamstring soreness.
The news is tough for an A’s team that recently lost two position players — center fielder Denzel Clarke and third baseman Max Muncy — to the injured list. Rookie first baseman Nick Kurtz has been outstanding (he made history by homering four times in Friday’s game and has won back-to-back American League Player of the Week Awards), but losing Wilson will be a blow to the A’s offense.
The rookie shortstop is batting .312 this season, fourth among qualifying hitters. He has hit 10 home runs and has a .793 OPS. At least until Kurtz’s surge, Wilson was perhaps the favorite for the AL Rookie of the Year Award. Now, he might not have much time left this season to contribute to the club.
His injury leaves the A’s with a major hole at shortstop, but if Tuesday’s game was any indication, the club might get by alright. Infielder Darell Hernaiz, who was called up from Triple-A Las Vegas and drew the start at shortstop, made a key play in the A’s victory, handling a tough hop on a 99.8 mph grounder up the middle to help A’s starter Luis Severino escape a bases-loaded jam in the fourth inning.
"Unbelievable play out there,” Severino said of Hernaiz’s efforts. “I told him after that inning that I owe him something. I need to buy him something because of that great play -- some shoes or something that he likes.”
Hernaiz went 1-for-4 at the plate in his 2025 debut, singling in the sixth inning. In 2024, he made 32 appearances at third base, 19 at shortstop and three at second base for the A’s.
“With Jacob being out, this is a good chance to see Darell and to give Darell some opportunity,” Kotsay said.
Hernaiz, 23, hit .305 with four home runs, 28 doubles and an .807 OPS in 96 games at Triple-A this season. There, he predominantly played shortstop, playing what Kotsay called improved defense while working on his power output.
“I’ve just been working on trying to drive the ball in the gap,” Hernaiz said. “I’ve been hitting quite a bit of doubles, so that’s my biggest point of emphasis this year: trying to slug a little more.”
Hernaiz will be splitting time with Max Schuemann at short for the A’s. Schuemann -- already playing a bigger role because of the A’s other injuries -- entered Tuesday batting .223 with a .645 OPS. He had started each of the team’s past five games.
“The workload has obviously increased over the last few,” Kotsay said. “We want to make sure that we can keep him healthy, keep him feeling good.”
That’s especially important for an infield corps that has dealt with its share of injuries. Kurtz, Luis Urías, Miguel Andujar and Gio Urshela have all spent time on the injured list this season. Both Wilson and Muncy are now on the IL with fractures, but despite their importance to the club, they won’t be rushed back to the Majors.
"Like we said before, it’s a pain tolerance thing for Max and for Jacob,” Kotsay said. “Both of these kids I expect back. For them, we’ll continue to treat them and make sure that they’re making progress before we really put them toward any type of strenuous activity.”