On Tuesday, the Oakland Athletics announced that slugger Mark Canha would miss the remainder of the 2016 season due to a left hip impingement.
The Oakland Athletics have lost Mark Canha for the year, after it was determined that the 27-year-old will have season-ending surgery next Tuesday.
Michael Wagamon of MLB.com reported that Canha’s surgery will take place in Vail, Colorado, and “will include shaving down part of Canha’s femur bone”.
According to Wagamon, Canha said:
"“The problem is the femur has got extra bone. It’s not shaped correctly. The horizontal section of my femur that attaches the ball that goes into the socket into the vertical second of my femur, that little small horizontal cross-section is misshapen. It needs to be shaved down.”"
So far this season, Canha had slugged three home runs and knocked in six RBIs, but was hitting just .122/.140/.341 for the year. Earlier this month, the first baseman/outfielder had referred to the pain as “excruciating” while batting.
The expect time for rehab is six or more months, so Canha should be back in time for Spring Training next year.
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Last year, he hit .254/.315/.426 in his rookie season, after being acquired in the Rule 5 Draft over the winter. For those who don’t know, the Rule 5 Draft is an internal MLB draft in which teams have the opportunity to select players from other organizations. Any player with five years or more of minor league service time (or four years, if they were 19 or older when they were drafted) who is not on the 40 man roster is eligible to be drafted. Players must be kept on their new club’s major league roster or offered back to their original teams – they may not be sent down.
In Canha’s case, he was drafted from Miami by the Colorado Rockies, but was then traded for A’s pitcher Austin House. The A’s managed to keep him on the roster for a full season, which means the Marlins no longer have any claim on him. In fact, he played so well last season that he was considered a lock to make Oakland’s major league roster out of Spring Training this year.
It certainly is a blow to the Athletics to lose Canha, but not an insurmountable one. He will be much more valuable to the A’s when he is fully healthy, and in the meantime, sluggers like Danny Valencia can fill in in the lineup. At first base, it might actually be easier to get playing time for Canha’s fellow infielders, as Yonder Alonso and Stephen Vogt will be able to take advantage of more at-bats at the first base position.
Hopefully, Canha will return fully healthy next season, when the A’s should be ready to contend. They can always use more power in the heart of their lineup.
Next: Should A's Consider Trading Josh Reddick?
In other roster news, the Oakland Athletics recalled Jesse Hahn and infielder Max Muncy, and optioned Eric Surkamp to Triple-A. Catcher Josh Phegley was also placed on the 15-day disabled list. Until Phegley returns, Matt McBride is expected to fill in behind the dish as needed.