INF/OF Arismendy Alcantara was acquired by the A's from the Cubs in exchange for INF/OF Chris Coghlan. Oakland optioned Alcantara to Triple-A Nashville. In 53 games for Triple-A Iowa this year, Alcantara hit .264/.315/.437 with five homers and 21 RBIs. He went 2-for-26 with one RBI in 11 games for the Cubs last year.

Alcantara is now hitting .282/.349/.516 with eight home runs and 11 stolen bases in 188 at-bats for Triple-A Iowa.

It might be too early to call Alcantara a Quadruple-A player - after all, he's still just 23 - but he's struggled during his 300 at-bats in the majors so far. He has a 20:52 BB:K ratio with Iowa, which isn't great, but he's certainly showing some improvement in that area.

Alcantara had two hits - including his fifth home run of the season - for Triple-A Iowa on Thursday.

Alcantara is heating up a little after a slow start with Iowa, but he still has a 10:31 BB:K ratio and .238 batting average in 105 at-bats. With the glut of middle infielders in the Cubs' system, he may be a candidate for a trade, especially if the team is a contender throughout the year.

Alcantara is hitting just .077 with 11 strikeouts in his first 26 at-bats with Triple-A Iowa.

Meanwhile, his replacement at second base with the Cubs, Addison Russell, hit his first home run Friday. On the plus side, Alcantara has already drawn five walks. Though he had a little success in Chicago last year, he clearly still has a lot of work to do.

Alcantara has been optioned to Triple-A.

The promotion of Addison Russell will temporarily squeeze Alcantara from the roster. Alcantara will start regularly for Iowa, with the hope of displacing Jonathan Herrera as the team's primary utility man in the coming weeks.

Alcantara is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Padres, MLB.com's Carrie Muskat reports.

Playing time at second base has opened up with Tommy La Stella (oblique) on the DL and Javier Baez at Triple-A Iowa, but Alcantara hasn't been able to take advantage of the opportunity. The 23-year-old is batting a measly 2-for-24 (.083) to kick off the season, opening the door for utility man Jonathan Herrera to receive most of the at-bats of late at second base.

Alcantara is not in lineup for Friday's games against the Padres.

With Kris Bryant getting called up and taking over third base, Alcantara is running out of potential starting spots to bounce around. He still has second base, but there are other young players for the Cubs who could subplant them there, like Addison Russell or Javier Baez (if he learns to control the strikeout).

Alcantara failed to record a hit in Saturday's win over the Rockies, but walked twice and came around to score runs on both occasions.

Alcantara made the start at second base while Tommy La Stella rested, then moved over to third base after Mike Olt was forced to exit the game with a wrist injury. The ability to play multiple positions is Alcantara's greatest attribute, and one that may yield a fair amount of at-bats even if he doesn't necessarily have a direct line on a regular starting job. During his 70 games with the Cubs last season, Alcantara showed a decent amount of pop (10 homers) and speed (eight steals), giving him more fantasy upside than the typical middle infielder.

Alcantara is not in the lineup Sunday night against the Cardinals.

Alcantara remains poised for an expanded role following the demotion of Javier Baez to Triple-A, but manager Joe Maddon will instead elect to go with Tommy La Stella at the keystone on Opening Night.

Alcantara appears poised for a significant role at second base to start the season, following Javier Baez getting sent to Triple-A Iowa on Monday.

Tommy La Stella will also get some starts at second base while Baez is in the minor leagues, so Alcantara should still be considered a part-time player, although he has significant upside and with a hot April, he could play his way to a semi-everyday role.

Javier Baez is not a lock to the make the team, the Cubs' official site reports, so Alcantara stands to gain a little playing time in his absence.

Alcantara should play all over the field this year, but if Baez starts the year in the minors, he'd probably share the keystone with Tommy La Stella.

Though Alcantara may not have a regular role at any specific position this year, it's possible he'll be employed much like Ben Zobrist was while manager Joe Maddon was in Tampa, Carrie Muskat of MLB.com reports.

Alcantara can be a sneaky fantasy sleeper this year if he gets close to regular at-bats despite not being at the top of the depth chart at any position. That said, he'll need to drastically improve his numbers against right-handed pitchers (.565 OPS and 7:73 BB:K ratio in 2014) for Maddon to trust him.

Alcantara is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Cardinals.

Alcantara had started the previous five games after missing time with a wrist injury. It appears to just be a normal day off to give him and his wrist rest, though it's worth noting his struggles since coming back to the lineup, striking out 11 times in five games.

Alcantara (wrist) is back in the lineup Friday against the Dodgers.

Alcantara has missed three straight games due to a sprained wrist, but after taking batting practice Thursday, he was deemed healthy enough to be present in Friday's starting lineup. The switch hitter is batting just .212 on the season, but is 5-for-16 at the dish over his previous four starts.

Alcantara (wrist) hit in the batting cage and took batting practice Thursday, MLB.com's Carrie Muskat reports.

Alcantara is being kept out of the lineup for the third straight game, but with a positive hitting session Thursday, he could draw back into the Chicago lineup over the weekend.

Alcantara (wrist) is out of the lineup Thursday against the Dodgers, MLB.com reports.

Alcantara was slated to resume hitting Thursday, and that should go a long way toward determining his status for the weekend. In the meantime, Ryan Kalish will cover center field in his absence.

Alcantara (wrist) underwent an MRI that showed a sprain in his right wrist, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Alcantara believes it's just a minor issue, and has been able to throw fine since injuring his wrist. He's out of the lineup for a second straight game on Wednesday, but will resume hitting Thursday and is hopeful that he'll be able to return then.

Alcantara (wrist) is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Reds.

Alcantara sat out on Tuesday with soreness in his wrist after running into the outfield wall, and is presumably still nursing the same injury. Ryan Kalish will start in center in his place Wednesday.

Alcantara is sitting out Tuesday due to minor wrist soreness, MLB.com's Carrie Muskat reports.

Alcantara injured his wrist crashing into the outfield wall in Monday's game. Consider him day-to-day.

Alcantara is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Reds.

Alcantara tallied five hits in his last four games and homered off Tuesday's starter for the Reds -- Johnny Cueto -- earlier this season, but manager Rick Renteria still decided to give him a day off Matt Szczur will get the start in center field in Alcantara's place.