Zack Gelof exits game with apparent hand injury

Gelof has been out since July 9th after cutting his knee on the outfield fence while making a sliding catch. He began baseball activities a little over a week ago and is closing in on a return. He will likely need at least a week of games to get his timing back, but he could return to the Athletics’ lineup by the middle of August.

The rookie has struggled of late, slashing .140/.189/.220 in his last 15 games with a 15/1 K/BB ratio. He’s been mostly solid in his first MLB season, but there remains a chance that the A’s could move Zack Gelof back to the outfield when he returns from his knee injury and keep Tommy White active in the infield. Bolte’s playing time does not seem as guaranteed as it was a few weeks ago.

Gelof has been out since July 9th after cutting his knee on the outfield fence while making a sliding catch. The Athletics will want to see how his knee handles running and other baseball movements before determining how quickly he can get back into game action. He likely won’t need many rehab games before rejoining the Athletics’ lineup.

Gelof cut his knee up pretty bad on a sliding catch last night in Detroit. Gelof had sort of swung between third base, second base, and left field since returning from the IL a few days ago, pushing Jeff McNeil (illness) into a bench role. McNeil will likely be more involved at second base over the weekend, pushing Joshua Kuroda-Grauer to third.

Gelof made a terrific sliding catch running down the third base line, but slid into the side wall as he did and came up hobbling. He tried to walk it off and remain in the game but ultimately the decision was made to pull him. Gelof will head for further evaluation. Expect the A’s to provide an update on his status after the game.

Since coming off the injured list on June 8th, Muncy has hit .210/.296/.387 with three home runs, 13 RBI, and a 29.6 percent strikeout rate in 20 games. He has a 9.5 percent barrel rate over that stretch, but is not making consistent enough contact, and with Tyler Soderstrom and Jacob Wilson back off the IL, the Athletics had no room for Muncy. They will likely move forward with Zack Gelof as their primary third baseman.

Gelof missed just the minimum stint on the injured list after suffering a hand laceration near the end of June. The 26-year-old was starting to swing a hot stick, and is worth fantasy consideration for those needing help in the middle infield.

Gelof had his hand stepped on by metal cleats last week and landed on the 10-day injured list on June 25th. Gripping activities will progress to swinging a bat when they feel that Gelof’s grip strength has returned enough. Then, provided his hand can withstand the impact of hitting, he should be able to quickly return to game action since he has not been out of the lineup long. However, we need to wait and see when he can begin hitting.

Gelof suffered a hand laceration and contusion during Tuesday’s game against the Giants, and the 26-year-old will now miss at least a week with the ailment. If there are no setbacks, it seems feasible that Gelof will be back in the early portion of July.

Gelof appears to have avoided serious injury when his right hand was stepped on by Matt Chapman during Tuesday’s series opener, which subsequently ended his 24-game hitting streak. Athletics manager told reporters afterwards that Gelof is day-to-day after X-rays didn’t reveal any fractures and he didn’t require stitches. The 26-year-old has been phenomenal since the start of June, hitting .329 (23-for-70) with five homers, 10 RBI and two steals during that span. It’ll be veteran Jeff McNeil taking over at the keystone on Wednesday evening.