The A’s made several roster moves on Friday afternoon before kicking off their weekend series in Houston, starting by placing young shortstop Jacob Wilson on the 10-day IL among other roster moves:
Wilson’s IL placement wasn’t the only move but it was the biggest.
The second-year infielder has battled shoulder issues since mid-May when he dislocated it diving for an infield single against the Orioles. He managed to work his way back to the team but a thumb injury and this continued shoulder soreness helped contribute to an injury-marred sophomore campaign for Wilson. He just hasn’t been the same guy who thrilled us all last year.
The 24-year-old will end his season with a .266/.298/.388 slash line with just seven long balls. That’s a major step down from his AL ROTY runner-up campaign last year but that shoulder injury could be a major part of the blame. Before his injury he was hitting .292/.311/.398 but post-All Star Break he’d hit just .229/.260/.385. There’s no official word on if he’s going to have surgery on that shoulder this offseason but if he is then the sooner the better. If the A’s are going to bounce back next year they’ll need Wilson in top form.
That wasn’t the only roster move today. Taking Wilson’s immediate spot on the active roster will be fellow infielder Michael Stefanic. This’ll be his second stint with the big league club this year after a very brief stint back in May when he played in two games and went 2-for-5. Capable of playing second, third, and left, he’s spent the majority of the year in Triple-A with the Aviators where he’s hit .296/.405/.414 with six home runs. Considering he’ll be 31 next year he’s mostly a depth piece at this point but maybe he can play his way into the backup infielder mix next year with a big showing down the stretch.
On the pitching side of things the A’s are swapping out one right-hander with another. Recent acquisition Taylor Rashi is heading back down to the minor leagues while prospect Kade Morris gets his second call up to the big leagues. Rashi only made it into one game for the A’s, pitching two innings and allowing one run against the Royals. He’ll head back to Triple-A and look to work his way back up for another crack in the big leagues. Morris meanwhile gets another chance at the majors. His first stint way back in June did not yield positive results and he’s only just returning from his own IL stint, but the A’s don’t have much to lose getting another look at a well-regarded prospect like Morris. Expect to see him out of the bullpen sometime in Houston, where he made his big league debut but got pummeled by the Astros for nine runs.
And the obvious of course: Nick Kurtz’s season is officially over with him being placed on the 60-day IL. The news was previously announced but this makes things official. We’ll see him next Spring.
