Athletics recall Darell Hernaiz from Triple-A

Hernaiz gets the boot from the active roster with Zack Gelof (hand) back from the 10-day injured list. Hernaiz will likely be the first option if/when the A’s need some infield depth later in the campaign.

Hernaiz returns to the minors with Max Muncy back from the injured list ahead of Monday’s series opener against the Brewers. The 24-year-old infielder has hit an underwhelming .237/.318/.288 with one homer and three steals in 47 games this season. It’ll presumably be Alika Williams handling the bulk of the shortstop duties until Jacob Wilson (shoulder) is ready to return later this month.

According to the Athletics training staff, Wilson will begin a rehabilitation program to strengthen and stabilize his shoulder before he’s cleared to resume baseball activities. There is no timetable for his return and fantasy managers should anticipate a lengthy absence. The 24-year-old contact-oriented shortstop was hitting .292/.311/.398 with three homers, 19 RBI and two steals in 39 games prior to suffering the injury during Sunday’s game against the Orioles. It’ll likely be Darrell Hernaiz taking over at shortstop in his place.

Wilson might be IL bound after leaving Sunday’s game. That would probably result in Darell Hernaiz getting a look at short in Sacramento, with Michael Stefanic being added from Triple-A.

Gelof has mostly played against lefties since getting called up, but this is his second straight start against a righty. Hernaiz had started nine straight games prior to yesterday. Sporting both the best strikeout rate and bat speed of his career, Gelof is batting .255/.300/.426 through 52 plate appearances. If he reemerges as a regular and gets back to stealing bases, there’s a chance he could offer some mixed-league value in a fantastic situation for hitters in Sacramento.

It’s a bit unclear how long Muncy will be sidelined at this juncture. However, it turns out the 23-year-old third baseman was playing through a fractured finger for nearly two weeks after being hit by a pitch back on April 13, which caused his overall numbers at the plate to plummet. It’ll likely be Darrell Hernaiz taking over at the hot corner in his absence.

It looks to be just a routine day off for the 24-year-old shortstop. Darell Hernaiz will start in his place and will bat eighth for the Athletics against Mets’ ace Freddy Peralta on Sunday afternoon in New York.

There had never been a walkoff homer in WBC history until today. Now there’s been two, after Ozzie Albies hit one earlier for The Netherlands. Panama led this one 2-1 entering the bottom of the ninth, but Alberto Baldonado couldn’t finish off the game, walking in the tying run with Willi Castro up. Panama took back the lead by plating the automatic runner in the top of the 10th, but the club botched a sac bunt to open the bottom of the inning, leading to runners on the corners with none out. After a game-tying double play seemed to wipe the slate clean, Hernaiz ended the game with a 374-foot shot to right. Puerto Rico is now 2-0 in pool play and seems well on its way to advancing to the quarterfinals.

Muncy fractured his hand last season and posted a .214/.259/.379 line in 220 plate appearances split between third base and second base. The A’s were reportedly close to acquiring Nolan Arenado this offseason, so it makes sense that they’re not exactly handing the 23-year-old Muncy the job. Neither of the three has much of a major-league track record to this point, but Muncy would have the highest upside in AL-only leagues.

Arenado was ultimately traded to the Diamondbacks, which is where he told the Cardinals preferred to play, but the Athletics “would have absorbed more money than the Diamondbacks.” While the Athletics could still pursue options like Eugenio Suarez and Yoan Moncada, Rosenthal reports that they “intend to use Max Muncy at third base, with Brett Harris and Darell Hernaiz also in the mix.”