SB Nation    •   6 min read

A’s roster moves: Wilson to IL, Hernaiz recalled

WHAT'S THE STORY?

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The Athletics announced on Tuesday afternoon that star rookie shortstop Jacob Wilson was placed on the 10-day IL with a broken left forearm. Darell Hernaiz will get recalled from Triple-A to take Wilson’s place on the active roster:

This is a devastating blow to the squad and Wilson. There

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isn’t any timeline as of yet but it’s likely going to be a while before we see the All-Star take the field again for the A’s, and there is a legitimate possibility that his season could be over with two months of baseball left to play.

Wilson was hitting an incredible .335/.379/.468 when he was hit by a pitch on the arm on July 8th. Since then he’s played in the All-Star game (going 0-for-2) and then has gone 4-for-38 in regular-season games and looked like a different player after the HBP. He’ll now be on the shelf for what could be most of the rest of the season, throwing a huge wrench in his rookie campaign that’s made him a favorite for American League Rookie of the Year. There is now a clear path for teammate Nick Kurtz to push for the award with Wilson on the shelf for an extended period of time.

Taking Wilson’s place on the active roster will be Hernaiz, a former top prospect that has seen his shine dull in recent years. He made his big league debut last year but struggled in 48 games with the big league squad, hitting a paltry .192/.261/.242 with just one home run before getting demoted and spending the rest of the year in Triple-A. He hit much better down with the Aviators but with Wilson now ahead of him on the depth chart there wasn’t a clear path to playing time with the big league team, until this injury that is.

This season he’s been one of the Aviators’ top hitters, hitting a strong .305/.383/.424 with four home runs and 12 stolen bases. Considering the ballpark he plays in it’s decent enough production but now he’ll need to step it up in the majors with the Athletics.

Well, he’a rejoining the team alright, just not in the way the organization probably would have hoped for. He’s in the starting lineup tonight at shortstop and he’s likely going to get the bulk of the at-bats there, giving the team an idea of if he can be a long-term piece for the young team. Let’s hope his second go-around with the A’s goes better than last year.

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