Welcome to Thursday A’s fans!

The squad managed to avoid a sweep yet again last night, winning the series finale in convincing fashion against the Los Angeles Dodgers. It brought the A’s record to 41-46 and with the weak AL West that’s good enough to be just three games out of first place.

The A’s now have a day off to rest and recuperate before welcoming the Miami Marlins to town. The Marlins came into this season with low expectations but they’ve surpassed them and then some. At 46-40 not only do they have a better record than every team in the AL West, but they’re also third in arguably the toughest division in baseball, the NL East. They also come to Sacramento riding a a hot streak, having won two in a row and taking 10 of their past 12 contests. Wrong time to be facing the Fish right now.

Miami has worked as a team to help them to their successful first half. While they’re second-to-last in the National League in home runs, they’re sixth in batting average, fifth in on-base percentage, and tied for 7th (with the Giants) in OPS. What they’ve lacked in power they’ve made up for with speed as their 94 steals are tops in the entire sport. They have four players already in double-digit swipes so A’s catchers will likely have their hands full with Marlins on the basepaths. Plus, they’ve been without their top power threat in Kyle Stowers for portions of this year but he’s back and hitting well since his return. Miami could be a buyer this deadline season.

The Miami starting rotation also has a couple bright spots. Max Meyer, a former 3rd overall pick in the draft, has broken out and is one of the best arms in the NL this year. Former Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara hasn’t been quite found his old form but has generally given them a chance to win when he takes the mound. And Eury Perez has also been adequate, though not quite living up to the hype that surrounded him when he arrived to the big leagues. We’re likely to see Meyer this weekend but probably not Alcantara or Perez since they started the Marlins’ past two games.

Anyway, the A’s. Unfortunately the bad injury news keeps on coming for the squad. Two days ago we learned that Designated Hitter Brent Rooker isn’t making as much progress in his return from the knee injury that landed him on the injured list at the beginning of June…

… but just last night just an hour or so before first pitch, the A’s announced the bad news: Rooker would be undergoing the knife, ending his season prematurely:

Not great news. Though Rooker was suffering his worst season to date with the Athletics (.200/.281/.389, 10 home runs), the club would surely have prefered their expensive DH to be playing and trying to right himself. He’s hit at least 30 home runs the past three years and the A’s were counting on that production in the middle of the lineup this season. Instead he’s been on the shelf since the first week of June and that’s where he’ll remain the rest of 2026.

It’s a brutal blow for Rooker, who likely wanted to come back, turn his season around, and help drive the A’s to the playoffs. Now he’ll begin the process of rehabbing his knee and hopefully being 100% ready to go next year, when he’ll be 32-years-old. That’s no spring chicken but he’s still locked in with the A’s for another three years, and his salary is about to make a big jump this offseason from $8 million this year to $14 million next season. The club will certainly take things slow with Rook to make sure this surgery and rehab goes as perfectly as possible. The A’s can’t afford to have that big a salary be an anchor and still compete.

Originally placed on the IL with what the team called a “bone bruise”, it’s now officially to the point where the club needs to stop thinking of a stopgap for his roster spot, and start thinking about how they’re going to replace him for the final three months of the season. The most likely option is to just simply stick in-house and rotate guys like Carlos Cortes, Lawence Butler, Shea Langeliers and others in and out of that spot depending on who Kotsay wants to give a half-day off to. It wouldn’t cost the A’s anything as far as prospects or salary, and the team could get some answers regarding some of their young bats, but the floor is also much lower without a more proven hitter in that spot.

If the club has their sights set on the postseason and wants to bolster the DH spot, the front office had better at least be doing their due diligence on guys that could step into the roll for half a season. Would the A’s make a bold trade for someone like the Giants’ Luis Arraez? Or someone a bit less costly like the Rockies’ Mickey Moniak or Boston’s Willson Contreras? Who would you guys target now that Rooker is indeed done for the year?

No game today everyone, but we have a big Fourth of July weekend ahead of us! Have a great one guys.

Scary moment down in Double-A last night as outfield prospect Ryan Lasko suffered a collision with fellow outfield prospect Devin Taylor. Lasko was carted off while Taylor stayed in the game:

But at least some good news. Keep Lasko in your thoughts, A’s fans. Get well soon Ryan!

Some “positive” injury news regarding a top prospect:

Leo De Vries and Jamie Arnold are heading to the Futures Game, where many of the game’s current stars made their national debuts:

A former well-regarded prospect is heading to Boston in exchange for a Low-A relief prospect:

And yesterday’s top performer down on the farm: