The Athletics announced on Friday that outfielder Ramón Laureano underwent successful core injury surgery on Thursday in Philadelphia, Pa. after experiencing some discomfort in the area during his offseason training.
Manager Bob Melvin said it was his understanding that Laureano suffered a sports hernia that had been affecting him over the course of the 2021 MLB season.
Laureano has been serving an 80-game suspension since Aug. 6 after violating MLB’s performance-enhancing drug policy.
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Laureano has been forced to watch the disappointing end to the A’s season from home. Melvin said on Friday that Laureano watches each game and it has been difficult seeing the team miss out on the 2021 postseason. The A’s mathematically were eliminated from contention on Wednesday night in their 4-2 loss to the Seattle Mariners.
“He wants to be there, he’s disappointed like we all are,” Melvin said. “Everybody has a sense of accountability that we’re not going to the postseason this year.”
Melvin and Laureano have stayed in constant contact throughout the outfielder's absence.
“I would say three or four days don’t go by before we have some sort of contact,” Melvin said.
Oakland Athletics
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The A’s acquired Starling Marte from the Miami Marlins about a week prior to Laureano’s suspension, which took care of the center-field hole Laureano left. Marte has flourished since coming to Oakland, as he is slashing .311/.353/.458 with 16 doubles, five homers, 29 RBI and 23 stolen bases in 53 games entering the final series of the season in Houston. His 45 stolen bases over the course of the entire season leads MLB.
The A's said Laureano will return to Arizona to resume his offseason rehab and they expect him to be ready for spring training. His suspension will cause him to miss the first 27 games of the 2022 MLB season.