Jacob Wilson's follow-up to his sensational 2025 All-Star season just hit a wall. The Athletics shortstop is likely done for the year, with reports indicating he's headed back to the 10-day injured list and unlikely to return in 2026.
The root of the problem goes back to May 10, when Wilson dislocated his left shoulder on a diving play. He missed roughly a month, worked his way back into the lineup, and tried to play through lingering soreness. It didn't hold. According to reports, Wilson has been dealing with renewed discomfort while swinging and hasn't been able to regain his full range of motion, prompting the team to shut him down and send him back to Sacramento to see specialists.
It's a rough turn for a guy who was must-watch TV a year ago. Wilson, the son of former MLB All-Star shortstop Jack Wilson, was the No. 6 overall pick in the 2023 draft and turned into an instant star as a rookie — he hit.339 with the lowest strikeout rate among AL shortstops at the All-Star break, got voted in as the starting AL shortstop (the first fan-elected rookie shortstop to start an All-Star Game and the first A's position player starter since Josh Donaldson in 2014), and finished runner-up to Nick Kurtz for AL Rookie of the Year.
This season never got that same traction. Between the shoulder issue and the time missed rehabbing it, Wilson was limited to 80 games and slashed a modest.266/.298/.388 with 7 home runs — a big step down from the elite contact bat that turned heads in 2025.
For Oakland, this is a lineup-shaping loss down the stretch, not just a fantasy footnote. Wilson was supposed to be the building block at short for years to come, and instead the A's are staring at a shoulder that surgery may eventually need to fix. No timetable for that has been set — for now it's about getting him full range of motion back before anyone talks about going under the knife.
The bigger question is what this means going forward. A dislocated shoulder that won't settle down after a full rehab stint is the kind of injury that lingers into an offseason, and the A's will want clarity on Wilson's shoulder before locking in their infield plans for 2027.