Jacob Wilson may be ready to return to the A's roster. After a quick four-game rehab stint to finish out last week and begin this one, the 24-year-old shortstop was held out of the Las Vegas Aviator lineup on Thursday after playing nine innings at shortstop on Wednesday, and seven on Tuesday. 

A full game in the field and playing back-to-back days is usually the sign that the A's are ready to activate someone. In his rehab stint he went 2-for-12 (.167) with a pair of walks that pushed his on-base to .333. 

With his return, how will the A's divvy up playing time in the infield? 

Part of the answer will reside in what ends up happening with Brent Rooker, who could end up on the IL on Friday after nursing some knee soreness that has caused him to miss the past two games.

If this is what ends up happening, Wilson's path back to the roster is cleared, and he could even end up as the DH if needed as he continues to build up, though shortstop would be his routine spot.

While losing Rooker just as he was warming up (.240/.296/.520 in June) wouldn't be ideal, it's better to get him fully healthy for the long haul. 

Watching Alika Williams and Zack Gelof up the middle at shortstop and second base to begin this series was a lot of fun, given Williams' glove and Gelof being back at his natural position. 

Jeff McNeil has been struggling mightily for nearly a month. Dating back to May 16, the veteran second baseman is 10-for-73 (.137) with a .222 OBP and a 9 wRC+ (100 is league average). The A's are looking for boosts wherever they can find them, and McNeil being a bench bat may be what's best for the time being. 

In that same span, Gelof has hit .271 with a .314 OBP and a 103 wRC+. He's also platoon-proof, hitting well against both right-handers and left-handers. 

The answer could be what we've already seen so far, which is Gelof playing second base against left-handers, and then sliding over to third base to face right-handers, giving Max Muncy those days off. Muncy has been dubbed the team's third baseman when healthy for much of the season — that was also without Gelof around. 

On the year, McNeil has a 58 wRC+ against lefties (73 vs. RHP) and Muncy has crushed left-handers with a 129 wRC+, along with a 63 wRC+ against righties. Plugging Gelof in seems like the simplest solution.

Of course, that also brings up the question of what happens to Williams, but he's a glove-first player that was brought in to give the club another option at shortstop with Wilson out. When Muncy was brought back, he even stuck around with Darell Hernaiz optioned back to Triple-A Las Vegas. 

Williams would likely figure to be a bench bat once more, serving as a defensive replacement at second base in the games that McNeil starts.