Athletics Select Michael Stefanic

The Athletics announced that they have selected the contract of infielder Michael Stefanic. He takes the active roster spot of fellow infielder Jacob Wilson, who has been placed on the 10-day injured list. First baseman Nick Kurtz has been transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man spot. The A’s also made a swap on the pitching side, optioning Taylor Rashi to Triple-A Las Vegas and recalling righty Kade Morris.

The IL moves are not surprising. Kurtz hit the 10-day IL earlier this month with a strained right thumb. It was relayed by manager Mark Kotsay shortly thereafter that Kurtz would probably be unable to make it back this year. Today’s transaction confirms that. With Wilson, he has missed several games this week due to left shoulder soreness. It was reported yesterday that he would be placed on the 10-day IL and probably wouldn’t come back this year.

Stefanic gets back on the roster to give the club an extra infielder as the play out the string without Wilson or Kurtz. Stefanic was briefly on the roster in May, getting into two games for the A’s. After that, he was designated for assignment, cleared waivers, elected free agency and was re-signed to a minor league deal.

The book on Stefanic is that he is a low-power contact hitter with defensive versatility. In 294 big league plate appearances, he has no home runs but a low strikeout rate of 15%. That still hasn’t led to much production, as he has a .231/.315/.269 line and 71 wRC+. He has often been better in the minors. This year, he has 453 Triple-A plate appearances with six home runs, a 9% strikeout rate and a big 13% walk rate. His .296/.405/.414 slash looks nice but is only marginally above average in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, leading to a 103 wRC+.

Defensively, Stefanic has seen big league time at shortstop, third base and second base. In the minors, he has also spent time at first base and in the outfield corners. The A’s are using Jeff McNeil, Tommy White, Donovan Walton, Darell Hernaiz, Max Muncy and Alika Williams in their infield mix as they play out the string on a lost season. Stefanic jumps into that group now. He is controllable beyond this season but is out of options.