After a fantastic season (despite unfortunate playoff-exiting circumstances), the Oakland Athletics have announced that they are considerably banged-up heading in to the winter.
The A's have announced that Jarrod Parker (forearm strain) will not need surgery, but Sonny Gray (thumb) & Josh Reddick (wrist) likely will
— Melissa Lockard (@melissalockard) October 14, 2013
Although the news isn’t entirely negative (see Jarrod Parker), it isn’t the best-case scenario to see two of the team’s potential building blocks going under the knife. In the case of Gray, he’s reportedly been diagnosed with a torn UCL in his non-pitching thumb, so that is a more minor occurrence. Reddick, however, is the one to watch, as his wrist issue is far more critical to his future success as a hitter.
It was already a down season for the 26-year-old outfielder, and perhaps, this explains why. Coming off of a season where he slugged .463 and belted 32 home runs, Reddick slipped to a .379 slugging percentage and 12 home runs, with the caveat of about 200 fewer plate appearances. He visibly struggled with the explosion needed to be a power hitter at this level, and wrist issues are among the worst for a hitter of any kind.
As the A’s move into Spring Training for 2014, it’ll be important to monitor Reddick, as they could desperately use a return to the power potential that he displayed in 2012.