Despite an improved offense, the Athletics' season hasn't gone as planned so far in 2026.
While making a return to the postseason for the first time since 2020 was always going to prove difficult as they play home games in Sacramento, the A's are trending toward the bottom of the American League. And on Tuesday, they got bad injury news for a player swinging a hot bat.
Joshua Kuroda-Grauer was placed on the IL after undergoing surgery for a ruptured testicle, the team announced, after an unfortunate foul ball injury.
Here's what happened to Kuroda-Grauer and more on his IL stint.
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Joshua Kuroda-Grauer hits IL with 'ruptured testicle'
The A's announced two injury moves on Tuesday — for one, pitcher Mark Leiter went on the 15-IL with a right hip impingement. However, it was the second injury that drew some fan attention, with Kuroda-Grauer placed on the 10-day IL with a "ruptured testicle."
The team also said that Kuroda-Grauer underwent surgery, with infielder Max Muncy — a different Muncy than the Dodgers' All-Star third baseman — being called up from Triple-A to replace him.
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What happened to Joshua Kuroda-Grauer?
Kuroda-Grauer, 23, suffered the injury in Monday night's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
On a pitch up-and-in from Diamondbacks pitcher Mitch Bratt in the fifth inning, Kuroda-Grauer swung hard, but fouled the ball directly into his groin area. He fell to the ground after, remaining hunched over as trainers came out.
Impressively, considering the later circumstances of his needed surgery, Kuroda-Grauer stayed in the game and got a hit off Bratt.
"No balls and one strike"
Joshua Kuroda-Grauer fouled a ball directly off his nuts, then recovered and got a base knock pic.twitter.com/wtFcxBXjKd
How long is Joshua Kuroda-Grauer out?
For now, Kuroda-Grauer was only placed on the 10-day IL, but considering he needed surgery, the infielder is expected to remain out indefinitely, with no official timetable from the A's yet.
It's a significant loss for the team's lineup, which does offer some star power despite a struggling pitching staff. Kuroda-Grauer has hit .417 (25-for-60) in the 16 games since he was called up from Triple-A this season, owning an OPS north of 1.000.
Now, there could be a chance the rookie has played his last game of the 2026 season.
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Joshua Kuroda-Grauer 2026 stats
Here's a look at Kuroda-Grauer's numbers since he was called up to the A's in June.
| Games | Runs | Hits | 2B | 3B | HRs | RBIs | SB | Ks | BB | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| 16 | 8 | 25 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 1 | .417 | .435 | .583 |

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