Oakland A’s recall outfielder Skye Bolt

The Oakland A’s recalled Skye Bolt on Thursday, the team announced. The outfielder joins the expanded September roster for the final four games of the regular season.

The precursor to this move came Wednesday in Anaheim, when center fielder Mark Canha exited the game in the 7th inning with a groin strain. Per insider Martin Gallegos, Canha had initially felt it earlier in the game while running the bases, but then felt a tug while running down a ball on defense and had to come out of the game.

Canha is hoping to be back in the lineup in the next couple days, notes Gallegos, but in the meantime the A’s brought up some extra outfield depth. Bolt is capable of playing center field in addition to the corner spots, and as a switch-hitter he also adds another lefty option to a lineup that usually finds itself at the platoon disadvantage against right-handed pitching.

This will be Bolt’s third stint in the majors this season. He spent roughly the first and last week of May with the A’s, including his MLB debut on May 3. Overall he appeared in four games and went 1-for-7 with a walk, two strikeouts, and a double off the tall RF wall in Pittsburgh that would have been a homer in most parks.

Down in Triple-A, Bolt got off to a hot start in April, but cooled off dramatically. In 55 games for Las Vegas since his last stint in Oakland, he’s batting .242 with just five homers and a subpar 76 wRC+ in 215 plate appearances. Scale back to the last 31 games (111 PAs) since the league’s All-Star break in early July, and those numbers become .160, 2 HR, a 43 wRC+, and strikeouts in a third of his trips to the plate. Overall for the season he has a 96 wRC+ for the Aviators.

Bolt isn’t in the lineup on Thursday, and it remains to be seen whether he’ll get any playing time at all, but at least there’s another capable CF around just in case while Oakland’s primary starter is out.