A's outfielder undergoes season-ending core surgery

A’s left fielder Miguel Andujar is undergoing surgery to address a core injury, manager Mark Kotsay announced Wednesday afternoon (X link via Martín Gallegos of MLB.com). Oakland placed him on the 10-day injured list when they recalled infielder Nick Allen on Wednesday; the A’s can move Andujar to the 60-day IL whenever they need a 40-man roster spot.

Oakland brought in Andujar via waivers from the Pirates last offseason. They agreed to a $1.7M salary to avoid arbitration. A meniscus repair cost him the first six weeks of the regular season. Andujar returned in late May and went on to have an alright season. He played in 70 games and hit .285/.320/.377. That’s essentially league-average offensive production. His 319 plate appearances represented his highest total since his 2018 rookie campaign when he popped 27 homers as the Yankees’ everyday third baseman to earn a runner-up finish in Rookie of the Year voting.

The righty-hitting Andujar had huge platoon splits. He mashed left-handed pitching at a .411/.459/.536 clip in 61 trips. His .256/.287/.341 showing versus righties was far less impressive. Andujar certainly won’t maintain that kind of production against southpaws over a big sample, yet he kept his strikeout rate to a meager 9.8% clip in those situations. That could be enough to get him another shot as a short side platoon bat going into next season.

Andujar surpassed five years of major league service. He’d be due a modest raise if the A’s want to keep him around for his last year of arbitration. The A’s don’t have a single guaranteed contract on the books for next season. Brent Rooker will be their only arbitration-eligible player of note, and he’s going through the process for the first time. Even by A’s standards, there’s ample payroll flexibility to retain Andujar if they feel he has any untapped upside at the plate.