Ahead of Wednesday's loss to the Detroit Tigers, the Athletics activated Tyler Soderstrom from the injured list and optioned Max Muncy down to Triple-A Las Vegas to clear a roster spot.

We mentioned immediately after the move was announced that it would be interesting to see how the A's planned to use Muncy in Vegas. He certainly needs more reps at third base after being one of the worst defensive players on the team, posting -7 outs above average at third base in 43 games played. 

Prospect Tommy White has also been hot with the bat since his promotion to Triple-A, but he too could use some reps at third base. 

"[Third base] is one area that we feel pretty good about having depth in right now," Mark Kotsay said on Wednesday. "Tommy White is in Triple-A right now, and I think he's got 16 home runs this season, and he's hitting .300. He's a young player that's also leaving a big impression." 

The move to Triple-A isn't just about clearing a roster spot. It's also about giving Muncy some time to work on things at the plate and find a more stable defensive home. 

With White looking like the third baseman most days in Triple-A, Kotsay said that Muncy will be moving around a bit, and could even look to get him some exposure in the outfield.

"He's athletic," Kotsay said. "We've worked him out in left field, or in the outfield. There's a chance he could go out and get his first experience out there. He can also be moved around the infield." 

Muncy is a natural shortstop, but even that position is fairly crowded in Las Vegas right now, with Darell Hernaiz, another natural shortstop, also with the Aviators. Last night he was playing second base while 27-year-old Drew Swift manned short. Swift has played 52 games at the position with Las Vegas, starting 49 of those games. Las Vegas has played 87 games overall. 

Most of Muncy's time in the big leagues has come at third base (75 games), followed by second base (23) and shortstop (8). In the minors he was primarily a shortstop, getting into 280 games at his natural spot and effectively splitting time between second (21 games) and third (22). 

The determining factor for the A's in sending Muncy down was just how well Joshua Kuroda-Grauer has played in the week he's been in the big leagues. After Wednesday's game, JKG had gone 15-for-30, which is certainly one way to make an impression. He's also versatile defensively. There just wasn't a spot for Muncy to see regular playing time. 

Kotsay said he believes that as young as Muncy is, this will be a good opportunity for Muncy to go down and get everyday playing time. 

"There's some things for Max to still improve upon. He's got to improve on the swinging out of the zone," Kotsay said. "His on-base at .270 — should be able to improve that. He's very talented. [I] feel like he can be a big part of this thing. When he swings at the ball that's in-zone, he does damage." 

This season Muncy has a 34.5% chase rate, which would rank right around the 23rd percentile given enough plate appearances, along with a 32.5% whiff rate, which would be right around the 10th percentile. Those combined to help him achieve a 33.1% strikeout rate, which would be in the 2nd percentile. 

His bat speed (74.5) and swing length (7.6) mirror Tyler Soderstrom's output on those same stats (74.5, 7.5), but Soderstrom also ranks in the 72nd percentile in chase rate (26%), the 66th percentile in whiff rate (21.4%) and the 71st percentile in strikeout rate (17.6%). 

You can see why Kotsay would want him to concentrate on swinging in the zone and doing damage. It also doesn't hurt that Soderstrom's 12.8% walk rate ranks in the 87th percentile to help boost his OBP, while Muncy's 8% walk rate would have him in the 37th percentile.