The Oakland Athletics just took a gut punch right before the All-Star break. They placed rookie first baseman Nick Kurtz on the 10-day injured list Saturday with a right thumb capsule strain. The move is retroactive to Friday, and it kills what would have been a storybook first All-Star appearance for the 23-year-old.
Kurtz had been named the American League’s starting first baseman after Vladimir Guerrero Jr. pulled out of the Midsummer Classic because of a back issue. But instead of stepping into the spotlight in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Kurtz will be sitting at home watching it on TV. He already missed Friday’s 14-1 blowout loss to the White Sox.
This thing traces back to Wednesday’s game in Detroit. Kurtz left after just an inning and a half because he was sick. But it got worse. While trying to field a bad throw from third baseman Zack Gelof, he collided with Tigers catcher Dillon Dingler near first base and apparently hurt his right hand in the process. Thursday he tried to gut it out as the designated hitter and went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in a 4-1 loss. Friday they held him out. Saturday came the IL move.
Kurtz had been struggling before the injury
The numbers tell a complicated story here. Kurtz was one of the AL’s best offensive players this season overall — .266 average, 20 homers, 66 RBIs in 92 games, and he led the majors with 76 walks. But he’d hit a wall lately. He went into Friday hitless in his last 20 at-bats and had hit just .145 with one homer over his previous 15 games. That’s 8-for-55.
This is the reigning AL Rookie of the Year we’re talking about. Last season he hit .290 with 36 homers and 86 RBIs in 117 games. He’s only been on the IL one other time in his career, back in May 2025 with a strained left hip flexor.
Serven gets the call
To fill Kurtz’s spot on the roster, the A’s brought up catcher Brian Serven from Triple-A Las Vegas. The 31-year-old has only played one MLB game this season, going 1-for-4. But he’s been tearing it up in the minors, hitting .308 with 18 doubles, seven homers and 41 RBIs in 55 games. Across parts of four big league seasons with Oakland, Colorado and Toronto, he’s a .188 career hitter with six homers and 20 RBIs.
The A’s now head into the break without their best hitter, and there’s no telling yet if Kurtz will be ready when play resumes. The team hasn’t given a timeline beyond the 10 days.
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