The Athletics announced that infielder/outfielder Zack Gelof has been placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to June 24th, with a right hand contusion. Infielder Alika Williams has been recalled to take his place on the roster.
The injury occurred on Tuesday in San Francisco, as seen in this clip from Baseball Savant. Giants third baseman Matt Chapman was trying to stretch a single into a double. He was tagged out by Gelof but stepped on Gelof’s hand in the process. Gelof was removed from the game. The next day, the A’s informed Martín Gallegos of MLB.com that Gelof would not require stitches and had no fractures. Regardless, he was kept out of yesterday’s lineup and will now spend at least a week-plus resting the hand.
The injury will unfortunately interrupt a nice bounceback season for Gelof. He had a strong showing in 2023 but then struggled greatly in 2024 and 2025, mostly due to strikeouts. He began this season in the minors but mashed Triple-A pitching through 11 games and was called up in April. Through 62 big league games this year, he has 11 home runs, a .282/.336/.498 line and a 128 wRC+. His 24.1% strikeout rate is above average but miles better than 36.1% rate he had over the previous two seasons. He was on a 24-game hit streak at the time of the injury but that is now over as he flied out in his first at-bat on Tuesday and didn’t get a chance to make a second plate appearance.
In addition to that strong offense, Gelof has been providing the A’s with defensive versatility. A natural infielder, he started doing outfield work in the offseason to increase his chances of getting back into a regular role in the majors. He has been splitting his time between second base, third base, center field and right field this year, though he’s mostly been at second and third recently.
The A’s have a record of 38-42 but that is good enough to be just one game out of a playoff spot in this year’s weak American League field. Gelof has been one of their best hitters this year, so it’s less than ideal to subtract him from the lineup, especially when Brent Rooker and Denzel Clarke are also on the shelf.
Without Gelof, the A’s will likely have Max Muncy at third most days and Jeff McNeil at second, with Williams chipping in on occasion. Muncy is hitting .230/.296/.429 on the year while McNeil’s line is down at .228/.299/.311. Ideally, Gelof’s hand can quickly heal up so he can return to the lineup.
Photo courtesy of Sergio Estrada, Imagn Images
