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Oakland Athletics right-hander Andrew Triggs had season-ending surgery to repair the labrum in his left hip, as MLB.com’s Jane Lee first reported on Friday.
Triggs, 28, has been on the disabled list since June 10 with what was initially diagnosed as a strained left hip. He attempted to rehab the injury over the past month but apparently did not have success doing so. Triggs was less than stellar in 12 starts this season, posting a 4.27 ERA and 1.33 WHIP with 50 strikeouts and 19 walks in 65.1 innings. But he at least represented some stability in a rotation that has been without Chris Bassitt all season and has been missing Kendall Graveman since late May.
Bassitt is expected to pitch out of the bullpen for the rest of the season after returning from Tommy John surgery, and it’s still unclear as to when Graveman will return. With ace Sonny Gray likely to be dealt before the non-waiver trade deadline, the A’s will have to rely on guys like Sean Manaea, Daniel Gossett, Jharel Cotton, Paul Blackburn, Chris Smith, and Jesse Hahn to get them through the rest of the season. Manaea and Hahn are the only experienced starters among that group, so there could be some significant peaks and valleys.
If there’s any positive to be taken away from the fact that Triggs is going to be out for the rest of the year, it’s that Oakland fans will get an extended look at some of their brightest prospects in Gossett, Cotton, and Blackburn.
While Cotton has dealt with inconsistency and blister issues this season, he certainly has the potential to be the pitcher that posted a 2.15 ERA and 0.82 WHIP over his first five big-league starts last season. Gossett, Oakland’s No. 6 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, has struggled to the tune of a 6.23 ERA and 1.40 WHIP through his first six MLB starts, but he’ll get a chance to prove his worth over the second half. And Blackburn, who has gotten off to a dominant start, posting a 0.66 ERA and 0.95 WHIP in his first two starts, has an opportunity to show that he’s a more legitimate prospect than most evaluators projected him to be.