Joshua Kuroda-Grauer’s breakout rookie season with the Athletics hit a brutal detour Monday night. A foul tip rocketed straight into his groin during a game against the Diamondbacks, and the damage turned out to be about as bad as it gets down there. The 23-year-old infielder underwent surgery Tuesday for a ruptured testicle, according to Underdog MLB.
The A’s placed him on the 10-day injured list almost immediately after the incident. Kuroda-Grauer left Monday’s 5-2 win in Phoenix with what the team initially called a testicular contusion, but the surgical report Tuesday confirmed the rupture. Recovery typically takes four to eight weeks, though internal healing can stretch to three months. That timeline could put the rest of his 2026 season in jeopardy depending on how he recovers.
A Promising Start Cut Short
Kuroda-Grauer made his MLB debut on June 29 against the Dodgers and immediately looked like he belonged. He went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored in that game, even if Oakland lost 9-4. The New Jersey native and former Rutgers standout was hitting a blistering .417 with a .435 on-base percentage over his first 60 career at-bats, collecting 25 hits, one homer and four RBIs.
Defensively, he was perfect. Playing third base, second base and shortstop across 16 starts and 17 total games, Kuroda-Grauer didn’t commit a single error. That’s a 100% fielding percentage for a guy bouncing between three infield spots as a rookie. You don’t see that every day.
Another Body Blow for Oakland’s Roster
The Athletics are now running a MASH unit in the infield. Kuroda-Grauer is the fifth position player on the IL, joining Nick Kurtz, Zach Gelof and Denzel Clarke among others. That’s a lot of firepower missing for a team trying to scrap through the second half of the season.
Oakland faces Arizona again Tuesday night, and they’ll do it without one of their most versatile young pieces. Kuroda-Grauer’s injury is a hard reminder of how fragile even the most promising careers can be. One foul tip. One bad bounce. And a rookie’s summer gets flipped upside down.
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