Ryan Noda was a late scratch to the lineup on Wednesday after needing an emergency dental procedure. Mark Kotsay told reporters after the game that Noda would be headed to the IL a little later in the day. A corresponding move was not announced.
"The x-rays and appointment this afternoon revealed that he has a fracture in his jaw" was how Kotsay put it. Before Tuesday's game, a grounder came up and hit Noda in the mouth. "Noda didn't feel there was anything structurally done outside of just the tooth. This morning when he went to the dentist it revealed that there was more than just a little tooth misplaced."
That was before Tuesday's game. During the game, he got the scoring started with a solo homer in the second inning, his 11th of the season.
Noda has been superb at first base this season, batting .229 with a .375 OBP in his first big-league season. His 131 wRC+ (100 is league average) ranks seventh among all first basemen. Better than Pete Alonso (117). Better than Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (117). Just behind Paul Goldschmidt (133). He has been a huge find for the Oakland club this year.
With Noda set to miss some time, top prospect Tyler Soderstrom would be the logical choice to take over some playing time at first base after playing there on Wednesday. However, Soderstrom is also the team's backup catcher at the moment with Manny Piña and Carlos Pérez both on the IL, so that may not be the course of action at this time.
Instead, the team could look to give Seth Brown some playing time at first, which would clear up some space in the upcoming outfield logjam when Ramón Laureano returns from the IL. Tony Kemp has been surging of late, including a 2-for-3 afternoon with a hit by pitch, but he has been pushed to left field with the arrival of Zack Gelof and Jordan Díaz getting the bulk of the playing time at second base.
The A's currently have Brown, Kemp, All Star Brent Rooker, JJ Bleday, and Cody Thomas as outfielders on the roster without the addition of Laureano.
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