A’s Ellis Returns; May Not Start

The good news for Mark Ellis is that he’ll be activated by the A’s today.  The bad news is that he may have lost his starting role with the club.

Jemile Weeks’ current level of play would be one reason for the bad news.  Another is how awful Ellis played before he was injured.

Ellis took a line of .211/.245/.287 with him to the disabled list.  Doing the math for you, that’s only an OPS of .533.

While the 34 year old has a $6 million salary this season, he is only signed through 2011 so the A’s may be willing to let Ellis serve as Weeks’ backup for the season before letting him walk.

However, Ellis ranked as a Type A free agent at the end of May, and some clubs may covet the second baseman.  In that case, Oakland may want to get him back on the field before the deadline to possibly churn up some trade interest.

Either way, it’s pretty evident that Weeks will be Oakland’s second baseman of the future.  In 13 games with the club the 24 year old has produced a line of .362/.400/.574 with 7 extra base hits and 4 stolen bases.  Now, it’s doubtful that his BABIP of .405 will continue, but Weeks has given A’s fans a taste of what they hope is yet to come.