Sox starter Daisuke Matsuzaka unleases a pitch in the first inning against the A’s last night.

The Providence Journal / Bob Breidenbach

OAKLAND — If there’s a more unlikely path to reach the big leagues than the one Chris Denorfia has traveled, it isn’t widely known.

Part of a platoon in center field for the Oakland A’s, Denorfia played his college ball at Wheaton College in Norton, Mass.

The fact that Wheaton is a Division III school isn’t terribly out of the ordinary; a number of major-leaguers played college ball at smaller schools. But until a decade ago, Wheaton wasn’t even coeducational, and thus without a men’s baseball program.

“It’s been,” Denorfia acknowledged before last night’s game, “sort of a long and winding road.”

Growing up Southington, Conn., Denorfia, 27, wasn’t heavily recruited. At the last minute, an offer came from Wesleyan University, but Denorfia chose Wheaton, largely thanks to the persistence of Eric Podbelski, the coach who built the Wheaton men’s program from its inception.

A Division III All-America selection in his senior year, Denorfia didn’t notice any pro scouts watching him until then.

Still, he harbored big-league dreams.

“It wasn’t like because I went there, I thought my baseball career was going to end,” he said. “It’s definitely not the traditional path, but I still wanted to play pro ball.”

He was chosen by the Cincinnati Reds in the 19th round of the 2002 draft and spent four seasons climbing the minor-league ladder.

Being without a big-school pedigree never made him felt self-conscious. Others in the Reds’ system were drafted out of high school.

“There are a lot of players at small schools who were as good as players from big programs,” he said. “I never felt overmatched.”

In 2005, in the final month of the season, he was rewarded with a September call-up to Cincinnati. He spent four different stints with the Reds in 2006, but the following spring, suffered an elbow injury and underwent Tommy John surgery.

While recuperating from the procedure, he was dealt to the A’s, in yet another unusual happenstance. Players are seldom traded while recovering from major surgery.

Denorfia joined his new organization knowing he couldn’t possibly contribute, but never felt like an outsider.

“That was one of the great things,” Denorfia said. “They welcomed me right off the bat, so I felt fortunate to have an opportunity here, even though I couldn’t play.”

This spring, having recovered, Denorfia went to spring training as the A’s likely starting center fielder. In its ongoing salary purge, the team had dealt incumbent center fielder Mark Kotsay to Atlanta, clearing the way for Denorfia.

But Denorfia struggled for the first two weeks of Cactus League play and Ryan Sweeney, himself obtained in another deal involving a veteran outfielder (Nick Swisher), became part of the equation.

For now, the two share the center-field job. The left-handed-hitting Sweeney drew the start last night against the Sox’ Daisuke Matsuzaka. The right-handed-hitting Denorfia is set to play the matinee today against lefty Jon Lester.

“It took a while this spring to get back into baseball shape,” said Denorfia after batting practice last night. “After a year off, your timing isn’t there.”

Perhaps it’s fitting that Denorfia is having to fight for playing time. After all, nothing’s ever been handed to him in his non-traditional route to the majors.

“Anything is possible,” he said of his journey. “It’s tough to get here, and it’s even tougher to keep it going.”

Already, he’s looking forward to the first weekend in August, when the A’s visit Fenway for the first time and Denorfia can play in front of family, friends and former teammates.

“I’ve got that circled on the calendar,” said Denorfia, smiling at the thought of his New England homecoming. “But one day at a time.”

smcadam@projo.com