HOUSTON -- With Nick Kurtz recently justifying his No. 14 ranking among baseball’s top prospects, per MLB Pipeline, the Athletics put the 22-year-old first baseman on the 10-day injured list on Tuesday, retroactive to Sunday.
Kurtz (No. 1 A's prospect) strained his left hip flexor while running from first to third on a 10th-inning single against the Phillies on Saturday.
“We’re hoping that it’s not a long timetable,” manager Mark Kotsay said before the A’s fell 11-1 to the Astros on Tuesday evening at Daikin Park. “Obviously, he came out of the game [Saturday], we got him evaluated, took [Monday] to further that evaluation and just didn’t feel like he would be able to get back within the 10-day time frame. But there’s hope and thought that it could be a shorter stint than a longer one.”
Kurtz is slashing .245/.315/.447 through his first 94 Major League at-bats. He logged four home runs and nine RBIs over his past five games, going 7-for-17 (.412) with five walks in that span.
In another move on Tuesday, the A’s reacquired left-hander Sean Newcomb from the Red Sox for cash considerations. Newcomb, who pitched for the Athletics in 2023 and ‘24, was 0-4 with a 3.95 ERA in 12 appearances, including five starts, for Boston this season. He is expected to join the A’s on Wednesday.
To clear space on the 40-man roster for outfielder Drew Avans and Newcomb, the A’s designated left-hander Matt Krook and right-hander Ryan Cusick for assignment. The team also announced that outfielder/first baseman Seth Brown, who was designated for assignment on Friday, cleared waivers and was outrighted to Las Vegas.
Rather than move Tyler Soderstrom back to first base, where he has appeared in 28 games this season, Kotsay said he could see Logan Davidson (No. 30 prospect) and CJ Alexander filling that role in Kurtz’s absence. Alexander drew the start on Tuesday after Davidson went 2-for-3 with two RBIs on Sunday, when the A’s snapped an 11-game losing streak with a 5-4 win over the Phillies.
“Sodie’s getting real comfortable in left field,” Kotsay said. “He’s playing a really good left field.”
Taking Kurtz’s place on the active roster is Avans, who at age 28 got his first call to the Majors. Selected by the Dodgers in the 33rd round of the 2018 MLB Draft, Avans, who was in L.A.’s system through last season, was a non-roster invitee to A’s camp this spring.
A career .277 hitter in the Minors, Avans was enjoying his best season when he found out he was moving up from Triple-A Las Vegas. The Aviators happened to be just outside Houston, where they were in the middle of a series with the Astros’ Sugar Land affiliate.
“I got word [Monday] after our game got postponed in Sugar Land,” said Avans, who is carrying a .328/.414/.444 slash line and leading all of Minor League Baseball with 62 hits. “Kotsay was actually at the field and let me know I was coming up. It was awesome.
“Just a 20-minute Uber ride to the hotel. A lot better than getting on a four-hour flight.”
Kotsay said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was a big advocate of Avans, which led to the A’s signing him to a Minor League contract last November.
“Drew represents an A’s-type player in terms of knowing the game, playing the game really hard,” Kotsay said. “He plays good defense, takes good at-bats. It’s always nice to have a player in your organization that you can call up that has grinded. It’s rewarding to give these guys that opportunity.”
Kotsay said Avans can provide depth at all three outfield positions.
“Our development guys in Triple-A that have watched him play this first third of the season have put him in a category of maybe not next to [No. 5 prospect] Denzel Clarke, but as one of the elite defenders in the outfield for us right now,” Kotsay said.