The Athletics announced that left-hander Gage Jump has been placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to September 13, due to a left shoulder impingement. Fellow lefty Joe Rock has been recalled as the corresponding move.
Jump exited his most recent start after throwing just 44 pitches over two innings, departing due to this impingement. There was some initial hope that he could make another appearance before the season was done but that won’t happen now. It may be a mild injury but the IL stint ends his campaign. The 15-day window goes beyond the end of the regular season schedule and the A’s won’t be making the playoffs.
That means Jump will finish his rookie season with a 5.47 earned run average in 98 2/3 innings. That might feel a bit disappointing for a pitcher who came into the year on some Top 100 prospect lists but there are some more encouraging numbers under the hood. His 24.7% strikeout rate was above average. His 10.5% walk rate and 38.4% ground ball rate were shy of par but just barely. Fewer runs would have scored if not for an unfortunate .345 batting on balls in play and 67.1% strand rate. Jump’s 4.02 FIP and 4.15 SIERA are far more optimistic, coming more than a full run under his actual ERA.
Assuming he’s fully healthy for 2027, Jump will look to build on that next year, which is supposed to be the final season for the A’s in Sutter Health Park. The A’s have been rebuilding for a few years now and the position player group has had some success but there hasn’t been nearly as much on the pitching side. That means the 2027 rotation is fairly wide open.
Luis Severino will presumably trigger his player option and return to the club. He has expressed some frustration with the quality of the club’s amenities in West Sacramento but won’t beat $22MM in free agency on the heels of a notable lat strain and generally mediocre results going back to the start of last year. Jeffrey Springs should have his club option turned down, considering his 5.93 ERA this year.
Beyond Severino, the A’s will have lots of starts available for a cluster of relatively inexperienced and/or unproven guys. Jump would be in that mix alongside Jacob Lopez, Jack Perkins, Brady Basso, J.T. Ginn, Gunnar Hoglund, Kade Morris, Mason Barnett and others. Jamie Arnold should be in the mix as well, though he has an uncertain timeline after a scary recent injury. For the rest of the 2026 season, the A’s will have Springs, Perkins, Basso and Lopez taking the ball, along with some spot starts and bullpen games.
Photo courtesy of Dennis Lee, Imagn Images
