Is This a Prove it Year for A's Zack Gelof?
The Athletics have made it no secret that they're out to win some games in 2025. Since manager Mark Kotsay took over as the team's manager ahead of the 2022 campaign, there have been plenty of bumps in the road, along with the rebuilding of the roster, which led to two 100+ loss seasons, and the franchise's announcement that they would be leaving Oakland.
Now, it would seem, there are brighter days ahead for the team on the field.
With more expected from the roster in 2025, could that mean that second baseman Zack Gelof is in a pivotal season in his young career?
Gelof and fellow top prospect Tyler Soderstrom were called up to Oakland for the first game after the All Star break in 2023, a trend that would continue last season with Jacob Wilson making his debut in the same game a year later.
In 69 games played, Gelof ended up hitting .267 with. .337 OBP, 14 homers, 14 stolen bases, and solidified himself as the team's second baseman of the future. When the A's released renderings of their proposed Las Vegas ballpark early last season, it was Gelof's face that was on the scoreboard.
A year later, things appear to have changed. Gelof is certainly going to start the season on the team's Opening Day roster as the second baseman, but how firm a grasp he has on the position may be debatable.
In 2024, he ended up regressing quite a bit, batting just .211 with a .270 OBP. Of the 129 qualified hitters in baseball, Gelof's .270 on-base percentage ranked 129th. He did add 17 home runs and 25 steals, but his 34.4% strikeout rate also ranked last among qualified hitters.
This year, he'll have to be at least somewhere in between his 2023 and 2024 versions. Even with the down year at the plate, he was still able to accrue 1.4 fWAR due to his above average defense, so even a marginal upgrade would still make him a productive member of the roster. He was nearly a three-win player in the half-season he played in 2023 after all.
This early in Spring Training you don't want to make mountains out of mole hills, but in the opener, Gelof was the A's designated hitter, while prospect Max Muncy manned second base. Muncy's presumed fit has long been third base, with the arrival of Wilson at short, but with the team starting him at second, is there a backup plan in the works that they wanted to get some eyes on?
It's probably nothing, but given the team's upward trajectory, they can't afford to give Gelof a ton of rope for another full season, either. The A's other options at second would likely be Darell Hernaiz, who struggled in his first season at the big-league level, Max Schuemann, who is more of a utility guy, and perhaps non-roster invite Alejo Lopez.
This could have also been the coaching staff wanting to get a look at newcomer Luis Urías and minor leaguer Brett Harris at the hot corner in the first game while getting Gelof into the lineup, but giving him a half-day.
Muncy will likely need a little bit of time in Triple-A to begin the year before he's deemed ready for The Show, but he also offers a bit of versatility since he is a natural shortstop. The A's thinking could be that they brought in Urías and Gio Urshela to buy Muncy some time in the minors, but they also feel comfortable with the duo at third base and that the position is relatively covered now.
That would leave Muncy open to give second a shot this season, if the A's call upon him. Of course, the A's could also just have Urías slide over to second if they need him to, since he has plenty of big-league experience at the position.
All this is to say, the A's will have ways of covering second base, if they feel a change needs to be made.
For what it's worth, Gelof was ready to start his offseason training before the World Series was even over, so he knows how important this upcoming year could be to his role on the A's moving forward.
Jason has been covering the A’s at various sites for over a decade, and was the original host of the Locked on A’s podcast. He also covers the Stanford Cardinal as they attempt to rebuild numerous programs to prominence.