This story was excerpted from Mart¨ªn Gallegos¡¯ Athletics Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

OAKLAND -- Sidelined with a hip injury, Ram¨®n Laureano frustratingly had to watch the final two weeks of Oakland's season from the bench. During the final series of the year, he voiced his displeasure over what he felt was a disappointing campaign.

¡°I didn¡¯t do my job to find a way to do good and help the team win,¡± Laureano said. ¡°Body-wise, I don¡¯t think I was really there. They can say, ¡®Oh, excuses.¡¯ No, no. I performed bad. I couldn¡¯t find a way. Obviously, I felt some discomfort in my hip here and there. But I just couldn¡¯t adjust.¡±

Following an offseason that saw the A¡¯s trade away several stars, Laureano was eager to fulfill the increased expectations of him as a key piece of Oakland¡¯s offense. Of course, there was one immediate hurdle he faced in needing to serve out the final 27 games of an 80-game suspension after testing positive for Nandrolone, a performance-enhancing substance, in 2021.

Upon returning to the A¡¯s in May, Laureano struggled to find a rhythm at the plate. Dealing with hand and oblique issues throughout the year prior to his recent his issue, the outfielder finished slashing .211/.287/.376 with 13 home runs, 18 doubles, 11 stolen bases and 34 RBIs across 94 games.

¡°Mentally, it felt difficult,¡± Laureano said of his initial return from the suspension. ¡°The rules are the rules and it is what it is on that, but I know what happened. I¡¯m opening up to this because, if something happens to another player, they can see this interview and learn from this. I felt different. I felt like everybody was looking at me like I¡¯m the bad guy.?

¡°At the end of the day, I¡¯m over it. That¡¯s why I¡¯m opening up about it. All that matters is playing ball and going hard. People respect that stuff. At the end of the day, you find your real friends and you know who really believes you or not. Whoever doesn¡¯t, I don¡¯t [care].¡±

With no choice but to put this year in the rearview mirror, Laureano will look to change up his offseason routine with more of a focus on building strength and cardio. Even in his most productive past seasons, Laureano said he felt injuries limited him from reaching his true potential. After he finishes his rehab this offseason, Laureano will strive for preparing his body to withstand his goal of playing a full 162-game season.

¡°I haven¡¯t really been lifting that many weights the past couple of years,¡± Laureano said. ¡°Everybody says that less is more, but I think I need to go hard. That¡¯s a key right there. I think, baseball-wise, I want to be more fast-twitch. Also clean up some stuff in the cage with my hitting.

¡°More reps with less weight. That¡¯s how you build your cardio for the season. ¡­ Being a little leaner will be good for me, because I dream of playing center field every single day. I need to accomplish my dream of playing 162 games. That¡¯s the goal. People come to watch players play. I haven¡¯t been there 100 percent of the time. If they want to come watch me play, they¡¯re like, ¡®Where is that guy that I want to watch?¡¯ It¡¯s disappointing. I take responsibility of playing the game, and that¡¯s what I want to do.¡±

Though the A¡¯s endured just their second 100-loss season since moving to Oakland, Laureano is encouraged by what the future holds for this young squad. With better health, he hopes to be a much more productive piece of the 2023 club.

¡°There should be excitement here about the talent we¡¯ve gotten,¡± Laureano said. ¡°Everybody is new and getting their feet wet in the big leagues. But the fans and everyone should be excited. There¡¯s a lot of talent and the good thing is watching it grow. I want to be part of it, for sure.¡±