When the Oakland A’s acquired pitcher James Kaprielian in the 2017 Sonny Gray trade, he represented a big gamble. The right-hander was already in the midst of losing a second straight season to injury, and more than two years after being a 1st-round draft pick he’d only thrown 29u2153 innings in the pros. His ceiling was high because of the stuff he’d shown before his injury, but at some point he would need to actually pitch in order to reach it.
The story didn’t progress any further in 2018. Continual setbacks in his recovery from Tommy John surgery ended up costing him yet another full season, and the question in fans’ minds went from whether he’d reach his ceiling to whether he’d ever actually play again at all.