Joshua Kuroda-Grauer makes early exit vs. D-backs

Kuroda-Grauer will be eligible to rejoin the A’s on Sept. 19, but it sounds like he’s done for the year with the ruptured testicle he suffered in July. At least he was impressive enough in hitting .416 in 16 games before getting hurt to stand a decent chance of factoring into next year’s infield on Opening Day.

It appears to be nothing more than a routine day of rest for the 34-year-old infielder. Donovan Walton will start in his place at second base and will bat seventh for the Athletics against Astros’ right-hander Cristian Javier.

Walton put the A’s on the board with a solo homer off Hunter Brown to lead off the third inning. The 32-year-old veteran infielder has been filling in at shortstop with Jacob Wilson likely done for the season with a shoulder injury. Saturday’s homer was his fourth of the season while slashing .283/.374/.454 across 176 plate appearances.

Wilson takes a seat for the third consecutive game as he continues to deal with left shoulder soreness. It’s challenging to rule out a potential trip to the injured list, especially with the Athletics no longer in the mix for a playoff spot, but Wilson remains day-to-day for the moment. It’ll be Donovan Walton getting a look at shortstop on Wednesday evening.

Wilson will get a day off as the team continues to give him some rest to manage his patellar tendonitis in his right knee. The 24-year-old will sit with Donovan Walton leading off and handling shortstop duties.

Kuroda-Grauer is facing a lengthy absence after undergoing emergency surgery to repair a ruptured testicle at a Phoenix-area hospital on Monday. The 23-year-old rookie infielder suffered the unfortunate injury when he fouled a ball directly off his groin a couple innings after launching his first career home run on Monday against the Diamondbacks. There should be a definitive return timetable at some point in the near future, but he’s probably going to be out a while. It’s a big loss for the Athletics since he was hitting .417 (25-for-60) through 16 games since being called up from Triple-A.

Never before has a player hit his first major league homer and been so miserable after the game. Kuroda-Grauer was hurt when he fouled a pitch off himself in the fifth, though he did stay in for another inning. Alika Williams will probably be needed to fill in for him Tuesday.

Kuroda-Grauer has not looked overmatched since arriving in the big leagues last month, hitting .404 (23-for-57) with three RBI across 15 games. The 23-year-old rookie has begun batting towards the middle of the Athletics’ injury-depleted lineup recently and is worthy of a speculative pickup as a batting average source in most fantasy leagues.

The A’s demoted Meneses and Brian Serven from the position player side. Donovan Walton, who was just claimed off waivers from the Angels, is taking one spot. The other spot has yet to be filled, but it’ll probably be a callup (Darrell Hernaiz?), since it doesn’t sound like any of the team’s injured position players are ready to be activated. Meneses is 3-for-20 with three walks in his nine games with the A’s this year.

Walton had been designated for assignment by the Angels on Wednesday. The versatile 32-year-old infielder hit .319 (29-for-91) with three long balls and 12 RBI in 97 plate appearances during his time with the Halos. He’ll help to bolster the A’s bench.