MESA, Ariz. — The A’s lost a little bit of their outfield depth on Tuesday when manager Bob Melvin announced that Jake Smolinski will undergo right shoulder surgery on Friday.
“He just hasn’t responded well to the throwing portion of it and it’s consistently bothering him,” Melvin said. “So this is the direction we’re going.”
Smolinski had been bothered this camp by a sore throwing shoulder and that limited him to just three appearances as a designated hitter. He was 1 for 6 in those three games, most recently going 0 for 2 with two strikeouts Friday in a win over the Kansas City Royals.