Oakland second baseman Mark Ellis is healing faster than anticipated from his left calf strain, but it may not be fast enough for the former Gator to retain his every-day spot in the order.

Just more than three weeks since the injury, which landed him on the 60-day disabled list earlier this month, Ellis is starting to run. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, he was doing sprints at about 70 percent on Friday.

His return in late June could cause a log-jam in the infield.

Ellis’ replacement, Adam Kennedy, has been lights-out since taking over. After 19 games, Kennedy is batting .387 with two home runs and 13 RBI in 75 appearances at the plate. If Kennedy can keep his average above .300 when Ellis returns, it will be hard to sit him.

One option would be to move Ellis the third base, where he played for three years at Florida. But that spot is occupied by another injured player, six-time gold glove winner Eric Chavez. Chavez is also on the 60-day disabled list with a back injury.

For Oakland, a team that has been in a constant state of injury for the first few months of the season, the thinking is that by the time both return, someone else may be injured and need replacement. But if the injury bug stays away, they’ll be left in a situation where they’ll either have to sit a hot player, or force two veterans to share one position.

Ellis, who was batting .206 with no home runs and nine RBIs in 63 at bats before the injury, is signed through next year and could be an interesting piece of trade bait if Oakland decides to go in that direction.