A’s Gunnar Hoglund Diagnosed With Lumbar Spine Strain

The Athletics officially announced their Opening Day roster on Thursday morning. They enter the season as one of the healthiest teams in the league. Their only player beginning the year on the injured list is right-hander Gunnar Hoglund, whom the A’s announced is dealing with a lumbar spine strain.

Hoglund was a lock to open the season on the shelf, as he didn’t pitch at all this spring. He was hampered by a right knee injury early in camp. Martín Gallegos of MLB.com reported a couple weeks ago that a back injury had also arisen, though there wasn’t a specific diagnosis until today. The spine injury is apparently the bigger concern than the knee.

The A’s haven’t announced a return timeline. Hoglund’s IL placement is backdated to March 22, so he could theoretically return after 12 games. Given his lack of Spring Training work, he’ll certainly need more time than that. The A’s 40-man roster is at capacity, and Hoglund would be their only candidate for a 60-day IL move if they want to make any waiver claims or select the contract of anyone from within the farm system.

Hoglund is a former first-round pick of the Blue Jays whom the A’s acquired in the 2022 Matt Chapman trade. Injuries have kept him from establishing himself by his age-26 season. Hoglund was already midway through rehab from Tommy John surgery when he was traded. He battled a few setbacks and only threw 69 combined innings over his first two and a half minor league seasons. Hoglund’s stuff was down when he finally logged a full season in 2024.

Things seemed to be trending up early last year. Hoglund had an early-season velocity rebound and pitched well over six Triple-A starts. The A’s called him up and gave him six turns through the rotation last May. Hoglund struggled in his first crack at big league hitters, allowing a 6.40 ERA across 32 1/3 innings. He went down with a left hip injury. That was initially termed an impingement but later revealed to be a more serious labrum injury that required season-ending surgery.