The A’s sent infielder Jonathan Ornelas outright to Triple-A Las Vegas, according to the MLB.com transaction tracker. This is his second career outright, which gives him the right to elect free agency.
Ornelas was designated for assignment on Monday when Zack Gelof came back from a knee laceration. He had only been selected onto the big league roster a couple weeks earlier. Ornelas drew four starts in six appearances, three at second base and one in left field. He stepped to the plate 13 times and went 2-12 with a walk and seven strikeouts.
That marks four straight years with a bit of major league work for the former third-round pick. Ornelas is a .200 hitter and still searching for his first home run. He has a modest career Triple-A track record as well, though he has had a nice year at that level. Ornelas has combined for a .310/.378/.505 line with 11 homers in a little over 300 trips between the Yankees’ and A’s affiliates.
If Ornelas accepts the assignment (or elects free agency before re-signing a minor league deal), he could get another look this year. The A’s using a right side infield group of Jeff McNeil, Tommy White and Donovan Walton. Gelof has started at three positions in as many games since coming back, keeping Max Muncy in the mix at the hot corner. Alika Williams is still holding a big league roster spot as a glove-first utility player.
