Athletics Designate Jonathan Ornelas For Assignment

The Athletics announced that infielder/outfielder Zack Gelof has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list. In a corresponding move, infielder/outfielder Jonathan Ornelas has been designated for assignment.

Ornelas, 26, opted out of a minor league deal with the Yankees in July. He quickly landed a new minor league deal with the A’s and got added to the big league roster on the last day of the month. He got into six games for the A’s and stepped to the plate 13 times. He got two hits, both singles, and drew a walk but struck out seven times. He is out of options, so he has been bumped off the roster.

Since the trade deadline has passed, he will be on waivers in the coming days. His big league track record, which is limited, is that of a light-hitting utility guy. He has just 71 major league plate appearances, with a .200/.257/.231 line in those. But he had spent a bit of time at shortstop, second base, third base, left field and center field.

He has never really hit much in the minors either but has shown improvement this year. From 2023 to 2025, he made 1,339 plate appearances at the Triple-A level with 21 home runs, a .233/.331/.331 line and 75 wRC+. This year, between the Yanks and the A’s, he has 308 Triple-A plate appearances with a .310/.378/.505 line and 127 wRC+. His .381 batting average on balls in play is helping him a lot but he also hit 11 home runs in that time, a much better clip for him.

With his defensive versatility, he could be a useful bench piece with even semi-reasonable offense. He hasn’t done that yet but perhaps some club out there is intrigued by his numbers this year. If he clears waivers, he has a previous career outright and would therefore have the right to elect free agency.