Gio Urshela Set to Return to A's Roster

The Athletics announced today that they have reinstated third baseman Gio Urshela from the IL, and in a corresponding move, they have placed outfielder Seth Brown on the 10-day IL retroactive to June 13 with left elbow lateral epicondylitis. Urshela had been out of action since May 23 with a left hamstring strain.

Urshela completed a four-game rehab assignment with the Las Vegas Aviators last week, going 7-for-14 with a homer and a pair of doubles.

Despite his return to the roster, the former New York Yankee is not in the A's starting lineup on Tuesday night with the Houston Astros in town. In his absence, former first rounder Max Muncy has been seeing the majority of the playing time at third, and has been starting to find his groove at the big-league level in the month of June.

The rookie is 12-for-44 (.273) with a .289 OBP, four home runs and 11 RBI across 11 games. In his time with the A's, Urshela is hitting .224 with a .276 on-base, no home runs, and 13 RBI. It always appeared as though he'd be a placeholder for a younger player at third (presumably Muncy), and now that would appear to be the case.

The main question is how much playing time he'll receive in the coming days and weeks, and if the A's will be able to get anything for him in a trade. A's manager Mark Kotsay said he'd likely get most of his playing time at third when Muncy needs a day off, but he's a good bat off the bench, too.

As for Brown, he was on the Opening Day roster and was batting .212 with a home run and three RBI in 23 games when he was designated for assignment on May 23.  He was outrighted to Las Vegas on May 27 but returned to the A’s on June 6.  Brown is 1-for-13 (.077) with six strikeouts in five games since his return and is hitting .185 in 38 games overall.

The other common term for lateral epicondylitis is "tennis elbow" which is a condition that causes pain on the outside of the elbow, typically on the bony bump called the lateral epicondyle. It would appear as though the timetable on recovery time can vary on this one, with the shortest time period to return to daily activities sitting around two weeks.

Kotsay said he doesn't expect Brown to be out for long, and that the team will be shutting him down for a couple of days for rest, but that he'll begin his rehab process in three or four days.