A's Reinstate Jacob Wilson, Recall Jacob Lopez in Flurry of Roster Moves

A pair of Jacobs are back with the Athletics, as the club has reinstated Jacob Wilson from the IL and recalled Jacob Lopez from Triple-A Las Vegas. To make room on the 26-man roster, right-hander Kade Morris has been optioned to Vegas, along with backup catcher Brian Serven.

The other implied move here is that All-Star Shea Langeliers is also good to go with Serven headed back to the minors.

After his most recent outing, we talked about Lopez potentially being an option for the club fairly soon, because he showed last season that he has the stuff to be a dominant force in the rotation. This year he posted a 6.75 ERA across 12 games (10 starts). 

In his past two outings, he has combined for 11 ⅓ innings and given up just one earned run. He's also been limiting fly balls across his four starts with Vegas, giving up just three, while inducing 19 ground balls and striking out 17. 

Jacob Wilson has batted .277 with a .310 OBP this season, notching four home runs and 26 RBI. He's also posted a 91 wRC+ (100 is league average), but his defense at shortstop has been tremendous. Despite playing in just 50 games so far this season, Wilson's +6 outs above average ranks 9th among all shortstops this season. 

With more playing time, he would easily slide into at least the top-5 at the rate he's been producing so far this season. Getting him back is as much about his glove as his bat. 

The A's optioned Kade Morris to Triple-A after he threw 68 pitches on Saturday. While he has served as a long man in relief of late, that hefty workload was likely going to keep him unavailable until at least Wednesday, if not Thursday, giving him a full four days of rest. Lopez last threw on July 2, so he should be ready to go.

Morris is brand new to the relief role, and finding new routines on the fly isn't easy. It can take pitchers years to find out what works for them — figuring out when to lift and train to stay in shape, while balancing that with the unknown of when they'll be called upon next. A workout that's too hefty can leave a relief pitcher exhausted on a day they need to pitch. 

Because of that, it would make sense if the A's were simply going to hold him out until Thursday to give him a full four days of rest as though he were a starting pitcher. This way, he gets a chance to start on regular rest with Vegas.

We should know more about Lopez's role with the club when Mark Kotsay speaks with the media. Lopez is a fresh arm that can be used, but if they can go without using him for a couple of games, do they slot him into the rotation instead? 

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