A’s starter needs second opinion, Jacob Wilson lands on IL

The Oakland A’s placed Luis Medina on the IL a week ago with a sprained right elbow after he missed the first two months of the year with an MCL sprain in his right knee. On Sunday, A’s manager Mark Kosay told reporters that Medina will return for a second opinion on his elbow.

“He wants a second opinion before he determines the next steps, whether that’s surgery or another path.” The A’s manager also said the initial look “clearly shows an injury to the UCL.”

The 25-year-old has made eight starts for Oakland this season, posting a 5.18 ERA and 1.58 WHIP. Surgery at this point in the year would end his season and potentially sideline him for the 2025 campaign.

On the positive side, Ross Stripling made his final rehab start with Triple-A Las Vegas on Friday, throwing five innings, allowing eight hits and two runs while throwing 52 pitches. Because he could eat up so many innings with a low pitch count, he was pulled from the game even though he was scheduled to throw 75-80 pitches. He threw the rest of those in the bullpen.

Stripling is in Oakland and will throw a bullpen on Monday or Tuesday, at which point his return to the rotation will be determined. The A’s currently do not have a scheduled starter for Wednesday’s game against the Houston Astros, which would also be the fifth day since his rehab start with Vegas, so he could be slotted for that game if all goes well.

Ultimately, Abraham Toro was moved back from the IL, taking the place of Jacob Wilson, who had been placed on the IL with a mid-abdominal hamstring injury. There is no timeline set for Wilson’s return. For those wondering what a mid-abdominal hamstring injury is, Kotsay described it as the middle of the middle of the hamstring.

Toro was scheduled to pitch nine innings for Las Vegas on Saturday and Sunday, but given Wilson’s injury, the decision on whether to activate him a day early was left up to Toro. He said the two-game stint wasn’t about his health, but more about getting him some extra pitches before returning.