The Athletics placed center fielder Denzel Clarke on the 10-day injured list before today’s loss in Seattle. Colby Thomas was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas to take the vacated active roster spot.
Clarke is dealing with a bone bruise in his right foot. Manager Mark Kotsay told Martín Gallegos of MLB.com that the issue relates to a lingering injury to his big toe that Clarke has battled for some time. It reached a point where the defensive stalwart felt better shutting things down rather than continuing to play through the discomfort.
This is Clarke’s first full season at the MLB level. He’s living up to his reputation on both sides of the ball. Clarke has rated highly in center field and had another of his patented home run robberies to take one away from Drake Baldwin on April 1. The 6’3″ Clarke is among the most talented defensive players in the sport. His bat is well behind, and he’s hitting .170 while striking out 24 times in 60 plate appearances (40%).
Lawrence Butler got the start in center field today against Logan Gilbert. The A’s had turned to Zack Gelof at the position for the first two games of the Seattle series. A career-long second baseman, Gelof has begun working in the outfield this year after the A’s traded for Jeff McNeil to handle the keystone.
It’ll likely be Gelof taking the bulk of the center field work. Butler can play there on occasion, with Carlos Cortes drawing into right field on those days. The righty-hitting Thomas will also be in the mix after a strong start to his year in Triple-A. Thomas was batting .309/.397/.574 with five homers in 17 games for Las Vegas. He debuted last season and popped six homers in 132 plate appearances, but he struck out 49 times (37.1%) en route to a meager .267 on-base mark.
