A’s mainstay set to have hip surgery; agent says it’s not careerthreatening

For a team hoping to play deep into the postseason, the worstcase scenario struck the A’s on Saturday.

Oakland announced that one of its top players, twotime Platinum Glove winner Matt Chapman, will miss the rest of the season after right hip surgery, which is scheduled for Monday.

“It’s hard,” said manager Bob Melvin, who described Chapman as “devastated” by the news. “It’s hard on him, it’s hard on us . ... I think we’re all smarting a little bit right now and we want to carry the torch for him, keep win

ning, keep doing good things.”

Chapman saw hip specialist Dr. Marc Philippon in Vail, Colo., on Friday, and his agent, Scott Boras, told The Chronicle that Chapman has a torn hip labrum and the repair is expected to be straightforward, with no indications of complicating factors such as impingements or cysts. Boras said that Chapman has had some hip discomfort in previous years, but could no longer play through it after aggravating it last Sunday; the surgery will be similar to the one Oakland starter Sean Manaea had on draft day, Boras said.

“It was caught early, and it’s not at all careerthreatening,” said Boras, who estimates recovery time as 1216 weeks.

Philippon has had strong success with hip surgeries, with most athletes returning to full strength, including Oakland outfielder Mark Canha.

Chapman was batting .232 with 10 homers and 25 RBIs in 37 games, but hit .120 with 17 strikeouts over his last eight games after starting off with a .303 mark with seven home runs and 18 RBIs from Aug. 723. He was 0for11 with 10 strikeouts in the San Diego series last weekend before leaving a game after the fourth inning, when he felt discomfort in the hip while fielding a grounder.

“He’s our leader on and off the field,” A’s pitcher Chris Bassitt said. “It’s a huge blow to us, but luckily we have a lot of really good guys . ... We’re not going to make up for losing Matt Chapman, he’s a worldclass player, but we have enough guys to hopefully fill the void to give us a chance to win every single game.”

The A’s lead the AL West by 61⁄2 games after the Astros rallied to defeat the Dodgers 75. “That cushion is helpful because there won’t be a panic if they go into a little slide,” an AL scout said. “It’s an adjustment period, but it will take this team less time than other teams, because they’re so used to moving guys around. Bob can handle it — he’s a manager who knows how to fix problems.

“It’s going to be a big hurt but they have a scrappy team that always seems to come together and play hard and find a way to win. It’s a big blow — but if anyone can handle it, they can.”

The team recalled outfielder Seth Brown from the taxi squad and Vimael Machin and Tommy La Stella can play

third, but with Chad Pinder’s hamstring strain, the team might look to sign a veteran, such as Jake Lamb or Neil Walker, or call up Nate Orf or Sheldon Neuse from the team’s alternate site in San Jose.

“They’ll find a way to make up for it somehow,” another AL scout said. “They are always resilient.”

Chapman, 27, was an AllStar last season, and he put up an 8.3 WAR each of the previous two years. Since he came up in midJune 2017, he has led the majors in defensive runs saved, with 82, according to Fangraphs. That’s six more than Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons and 32 more than the next third baseman, Colorado’s Nolan Arenado.

“This one stings some, but we have to rally around it,” Melvin said. “You just have to get through.”