A's Options at Shortstop if Jacob Wilson Misses Time

On Sunday, the A's concluded their road trip looking to finish off a three-game sweep of the Baltimore Orioles. During the fifth inning of the contest, shortstop Jacob Wilson made a diving stop up the middle, but was slow to get up and in obvious pain. Manager Mark Kotsay and the trainer would head out to the field, and ultimately remove Wilson from the game.

The initial diagnoses is that Wilson has a left shoulder sprain, but he is undergoing further imaging on Monday, with an update likely to come on Tuesday. Darell Hernaiz entered the game at shortstop in place of Wilson, and would be in line to take over the spot until he returns to the lineup.

Wilson was off to a good start on the road trip in Philadelphia before having a rough 0-for-5 day on Saturday that snapped a 12-game hit streak. He started a new streak on Sunday before his exit, going 1-for-2.

With the A's heading back to West Sacramento to take on the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday, it's unclear whether or not Wilson will need some on the injured list. If he does miss time, this will be yet another opportunity for another player to step up, as the A's have done all season when injuries have occurred.

Who would play shortstop if Wilson misses time?

Because Darell Hernaiz stepped in to play shortstop for Wilson, he'll take over the spot if Wilson heads to the IL. He's taken over the role before, and has had success when playing shortstop in the past. However, Hernaiz has had struggles offensively this season, batting .208 with a .311 OBP. This could open the team up to exploring other potential options as well.

The A's have a few infield options at Triple-A Las Vegas that could slide into the team's lineup if needed. 27-year-old Drew Swift has been playing shortstop in Vegas and is batting .281 with 15 RBI in 114 at-bats this season. His 258 innings at shortstop with a .972 fielding percentage certainly make him an option to consider. It would be his MLB debut.

Since Swift is not on the 40-man roster, but the A's have an opening on the 40-man, which would make an addition pretty straightforward.

If the A's are going to add someone to the 40-man roster, they could turn to Henry Bolte instead, though the outfield mix is a little jam-packed. Bolte is off to a blistering start in May, going 25-for-42 (.595) with a .622 OBP and five home runs.

The reasoning here would be that Hernaiz would play at shortstop, taking him out of the rotation at third base. That means Zack Gelof is now more entrenched at the hot corner, making him less available to play center field, where he'd also been getting time.

Calling up Bolte would solve the center field problem, while making playing time more difficult to split between Lawrence Butler, Colby Thomas and Carlos Cortes. Adding Bolte would also give the A's their best offensive options to work with up and down the lineup.

Then again, the A's wouldn't have much infield depth past Hernaiz, Gelof and Brett Harris on the left side, so perhaps getting someone to fill that hole would be more imperative. This could end up being a big spot for Hernaiz to really break out for the club and solidify some sort of consistent role for the A's.

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