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The Athletics promoted infield prospect Franklin Barreto to the majors Saturday, continuing the club’s mission of adding young talent to the major-league roster this summer. Barreto is in the starting lineup in place of Jed Lowrie, who is dealing with a slight knee sprain.
Barreto, 21, is ranked by MLB.com as Oakland’s top prospect and the no. 44 prospect in all of baseball. He joins other prospects Daniel Gossett, Matt Chapman, Matt Olson and Bruce Maxwell, all A’s prospects who have joined the big club with veterans Trevor Plouffe and Stephen Vogt designated for assignment.
Barreto was originally signed by the Blue Jays as an international free agent in 2012 and joined the Oakland organization as a key piece of the return in the Josh Donaldson trade in Nov. 2014. He hit .281/.326/.428 with eight homers in 68 games for Triple-A Nashville to start this season.
Barreto will likely take over at a middle-infield spot for the A’s this summer, when the club decides to trade Lowrie and/or Marcus Semien. With Barreto’s ceiling, it appears he is the favorite to take over at shortstop for the long-term.