Center fielder Laureano undergoes core surgery
Suspended A’s outfielder Ramón Laureano underwent core surgery on Thursday in Philadelphia, the team announced. The surgery was performed by
Dr. William Meyers at the Vincera Institute.
To manager
Bob Melvin’s understanding, the injury was a sports hernia, which is a soft tissue injury that occurs in the groin area. Laureano began to feel discomfort while training at his home in Arizona in the offseason, the A’s said.
“How much that affected him over the course of the year, I’m not sure,” Melvin said. “He’s trying to get everything cleaned up and be fully healthy when he comes back next season.”
The A’s said that Laureano
will return to Arizona to resume his rehabilitation to be ready for spring training.
Laureano has been in Arizona since his 80-game suspension began on Aug. 6 after testing positive for nandrolone, a performance-enhancing drug.
Before his suspension, the A’s center fielder dealt with hip and groin injuries that sidelined him for 17 games.
After being placed on the 10-day injured list on June 1, Laureano traveled to Vail, Colo. to see Dr. Marc Philippon, who administered cortisone to his hip and a plateletrich plasma injection in his iliopsoas muscle and groin.
Laureano is expected to be ready for Spring Training and can play in those games, but the 27-year-old will still need to serve the 28 games left on his 80-game suspension when the 2022 regular season starts.
Laureano batted .257 with a .834 OPS and 11 home runs before his hip and groin injuries flared up. In the 40 games he played between his injury and suspension, he batted .234 with a .674 OPS.
Melvin said he and Laureano have been in contact and that Laureano has expressed regret and guilt for his suspension and its repercussions.
“It’s hard for him. He watches every game,” Melvin said. “He’s disappointed like we all are. Everybody has a sense of accountability that we aren’t going to the postseason this year. I was trying to intimate to him that we are all feeling that way. Join the club.”
BASSITT DONE >> The A’s ace who returned to the mound following a gruesome injury won’t start the final game of the season Sunday. Since the
A’s are out of postseason contention, Chris Bassitt will sit and Cole Irvin will start instead.
“It has more to do with us not being in it anymore,” Melvin said. “That’s what drove him to come back, is to help his team get to the postseason. Now that’s not going to happen, so you can understand why.”
Bassitt, 32, made two impressive starts since returning from facial surgery after taking a line drive to the face on Aug. 17.
He finishes with a 3.15 ERA and 12-4 record in 27 starts this season.
KOZMA CALLED UP >> Infielder Pete Kozma was called up to replace Vimael Machin on the active roster. Machin was placed on the injured list with a non-COVID related illness.
Kozma is best known for hitting the ninth-inning, goahead, two-run single that helped send the St. Louis Cardinals to a Game 5 victory over the Washington Nationals in the 2012 NLDS.