A’s roster moves: Darell Hernáiz reinstated, Brett Harris optioned

One rookie in exchange for another

The Athletics announced this afternoon that infielder Darell Hernáiz would rejoin the team before the Dodgers series as the club activated him off the IL:

That ends his nearly three month absence from the team. Hernáiz originally injured that left ankle way back on May 7th trying to leg out an infield hit. His stay on the shelf lasted longer than anticipated but it’s good that he’s finally back. He’s spent the past two weeks with the Aviators on his rehab assignment and should be good to go, though he’s not in tonight’s starting lineup. Still, we’ll likely see his return to the field at some point in the series against the Dodgers.

Hernáiz entered the season as the team’s 4th-ranked prospect, with a lot of fans clamoring for him to take over at shortstop to see what he’s got. Though he broke camp with the club it was glove-first Nick Allen who got a lot of run in the early going at shortstop, though Hernáiz got some playing time at the hot corner. A lack of consistent playing time probably didn’t help as the 22-year old infielder (23 tomorrow, happy birthday Darell!) struggled through his first taste of major league pitching. The team would option Hernáiz to Vegas for a week before recalling him and pulling the plug on Nick Allen, thus handing Hernáiz the shortstop job. Finally given a clear path to consistent at bats, Hernáiz had fans excited but wound up injuring that ankle after just a few games. Tough timing to say the least.

He’s been on the shelf for a while but since returning to game action in Triple-A he’s gone 12-for-33 with one long ball and four walks compared to five strikeouts. He’s also been getting work in the field, playing almost exclusively at shortstop but also getting a start at second and third each. We don’t yet know where or how they plan to use him but they didn’t bring him back to the big league roster to have him ride the bench. Best guess would be him and Max Shuemann split time until either A) one of them runs away with the job, or B) Jacob Wilson returns and takes back the starting gig. We’ll just have to wait and see how it unfolds over the next few weeks.

To make room on the roster the club optioned fellow infielder Brett Harris to Triple-A. The rookie third baseman has, like Hernáiz, had a tough time in his first big league action, slashing a paltry .146/.276/.262 with three long balls, all three of which came in the first six games of his career (and two in one game). And he’s been having an especially tough time lately as he’s just 1 for his last 17 plate appearances while having inconsistent playing time. He’ll head on back to Vegas and try to make some adjustments so that the next time he’s back with the Green & Gold, he’ll be better prepared.

And finally, to make room on the 40-man roster the club transfered righty Luis Medina to the 60-day IL, a mere formality at this point. Medina is set to undergo Tommy John surgery on the 6th and won’t be an option for the rest of this season and likely all of next year as well. It’s a tough break for the promising right-hander but he’ll have time to get healthy and return ready to pitch in 2026. Seems to far away but it’ll be here before you know it.