The Athletics may reportedly shut down a key player for the remainder of the 2026 MLB season. Jacob Wilson has sat out the last three games, and he's not in Thursday afternoon's starting lineup as the A's look to avoid getting swept by the Kansas City Royals. An unfortunate update suggests the promising shortstop could remain sidelined indefinitely.
Wilson is going to Sacramento to see a doctor about his left shoulder, according to MLB.com's Martín Gallegos. The Athletics plan to place him on the injured list, and his season is "likely over." Wilson made a huge impact in his first full season. After representing the A's in the 2025 MLB All-Star Game, he finished second to teammate Nick Kurtz in the American League Rookie of the Year voting.
Wilson hit .311 in 125 games, giving him baseball's third-highest batting average behind MVP winner Aaron Judge and Bo Bichette. He had the lowest strikeout rate (7.5%) of any qualified AL hitter and added some solid power with 13 home runs. This year hasn't gone as well for the 24-year-old, who's batting .266/.298/.388 with seven homers in 80 games.
He's only drawn a dozen walks in 337 plate appearances and has swung at 42.3% of pitches outside the strike zone, a concerning spike for a contact fiend who posted a 32.1% chase rate last season. Wilson was batting .292 before going on the injured list with left shoulder subluxation in May. He didn't look the same after returning from a month-long absence, hitting .239 in 41 games.
The Athletics enter Thursday's game with an MLB-low 49 wins, so they have little reason to take any chances with Wilson over the final month. Kurtz is also in danger of missing the rest of the season after going on the IL with a thumb injury two weeks ago.
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