Elephant Rumblings: A’s enter final home stand ahead of All-Star break

MLB news roundup

Happy Fourth of July, Athletics Nation!

The A’s are winding down this first half of the season at home with two rookie sensations garnering accolades, and one former rookie sensation poised to rejoin the club after an extended absence.

The biggest rookie news is that Jacob Wilson has officially been voted in as starting shortstop for the American League in the upcoming All-Star Game. On the heels of this historic development—and Wilson’s Rookie of the Month win in May—fellow teammate Nick Kurtz picked up Rookie of the Month honors for June.

Kurtz’s headline numbers clearly validate his award-worthiness, but The Blogfather would nevertheless like to remind you that Nick remains a work in progress with “plenty of weaknesses to correct” in order to bloom into the full-fledged superstar we all hope he’ll become—but he’s already shown us that the sky is the limit on both sides of the ball.

The A’s begin their final home stand ahead of the All-Star break today against the Giants. We can’t call this a Bay Bridge series anymore with the A’s in Sacramento, but the rivalry should remain fierce and San Francisco has been struggling of late, as have the Braves, who will roll into Sutter Health Park on Tuesday for the second of three three-game series that will comprise the home stand. Then the soaring Blue Jays will land for the final series before All-Star festivities begin next week.

The A’s are an abysmal 15-27 at home in their first season in Sacramento, so they desperately need to make a strong showing in the nine games ahead to turn the tide and shift momentum heading into the second half of the 2025 season. Manager Mark Kotsay has indicated that second baseman Zack Gelof— another Athletic who made a big splash as a rookie—could be in the lineup this weekend as a very welcome reinforcement.

Have a safe holiday, AN.

A’s Coverage

• Nick Kurtz: Congratulations On Being June’s Rookie Of The Month, But Also…
• A’s Zack Gelof Could be Activated For Weekend Series Against San Francisco Giants
• Arizona Diamondbacks Sign Longtime A’s Outfielder

MLB News & Interest:

• Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz placed on leave due to MLB betting investigation: Sources ($)
• Justin Verlander’s outlook, Royals eye Bryan Reynolds and more notes: Rosenthal ($)
• Rays Reinstate Ha-Seong Kim
• Mets Place Paul Blackburn, Dedniel Núñez On Injured List
• The MLB prospects execs say are most likely to be traded at the deadline ($)
• Yankees Have Shown Interest In Ryan McMahon
• Brandon Woodruff To Start For Brewers On Sunday
• Today in Baseball History

Best of X:

A’s making waves in the PCL.