A’s prospect is stable after in-game injury but can’t feel lower half, team says
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Ryan Lasko is in stable condition after spinal decompression and stabilization surgery.
- Swelling from surgery left Lasko unable to feel his lower half, manager said.
- Lasko suffered a C6-C7 fracture during a collision and had spinal surgery.
The Athletics’ No. 18 overall prospect is in stable condition but can’t feel his lower half after fracturing vertebrae in his neck during an in-game collision Tuesday and later undergoing surgery, A’s officials said.
Ryan Lasko, an outfielder with the Double-A Midland RockHounds, suffered a C6-C7 vertebrae fracture Tuesday night while going for a fly ball in right-center field, for which both Lasko and right fielder Devin Taylor dove before colliding. After the play, Lasko could not get up and remained on the ground in the outfield.
Lasko was taken to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Plano, Texas, where he underwent spinal decompression and stabilization surgery from Dr. Jonathan Poggi, the A’s said. Taylor played the rest of the game.
Swelling left over from the surgery, A’s manager Mark Kotsay said Wednesday, caused Lasko to be unable to feel his lower half, though Kotsay said there was “hope” that he would feel it again.
Kotsay on Wednesday called the updates from doctors positive, but said they weren’t definitive.
“The event that took place was a baseball play (where) both himself and Taylor were making an aggressive play on a ball in the gap. It’s an unfortunate injury for Lasko,” Kotsay said before the A’s began their series finale against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Sutter Health Park.
“Send prayers to him, to his family and to his teammates, and the team. It’s a trying time for them, an emotional time for them. We need to be there to support them.”
When announcing their lineup for Wednesday’s game on social media, the RockHounds said “#22 this one’s for you” followed by a heart emoji, referencing Lasko.
After Tuesday’s game, the Frisco RoughRiders, who were hosting the RockHounds when Lasko was injured, said on social media that their “hearts are with Ryan Lasko and the RockHounds.”
A’s general manager David Forst said in a news release that he has been in contact with Lasko’s family and that Ed Sprague, the A’s director of player development, arrived in Frisco to help work with the Midland players, alongside mental health professionals.
Who is Ryan Lasko?
A few players on the A’s active roster, including reliever Kade Morris and infielder Joshua Kuroda-Grauer, have played with Lasko as recently as this season in Double-A, and the outfielder had been at the A’s camp previously.
Kotsay said the team will continue to give updates to the players as a way to support them during the situation.
Lasko, 24, was in the middle of his fourth season in the minor leagues, all in the A’s organization, where he had progressed from Rookie Ball to a short stint in Triple-A in 2025. He was drafted in the second round, No. 41 overall, by the A’s in 2023 out of Rutgers.
In 73 games this season, all in Double-A, Lasko held a .635 on-base plus slugging percentage with six home runs, five triples, six doubles and 34 RBIs.
When asked for his impression of Lasko as a person, Kotsay summed his answer up in one word: “Competitor.”
“I can vividly recall just being around him and his passion for baseball,” Kotsay said ahead of Wednesday’s game.
