{"id":627335,"date":"2026-03-17T01:20:31","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T01:20:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/627335\/"},"modified":"2026-03-17T01:20:31","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T01:20:31","slug":"athletics-zack-gelof-embracing-outfield-experience-with-role-in-question","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/627335\/","title":{"rendered":"Athletics’ Zack Gelof embracing outfield experience with role in question"},"content":{"rendered":"

Athletics’ Zack Gelof embracing outfield experience with role in question<\/a> originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area<\/a><\/p>\n

After a hot start to his MLB career in 2023, the last two seasons have been marred by adversity for Athletics infielder Zack Gelof.<\/p>\n

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Heading into 2026, the A\u2019s now boast a crowded infield, especially after trading for veteran second baseman Jeff McNeil<\/a>. The trade landed the A\u2019s an everyday second baseman, putting Gelof\u2019s role with the team in doubt.<\/p>\n

That led Mark Kotsay to test Gelof at another position, starting the 26-year-old at center field against the Cleveland Guardians in Sunday\u2019s spring training game.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt says number eight next to my name. What does that mean?\u201d Gelof quipped when seeing his name in the starting lineup, via MLB.com\u2019s Mart\u00edn Gallegos.<\/a><\/p>\n

Gelof recorded a put out on Sunday. On a sunny day in Arizona, he tracked a ball hit by Guardians\u2019 David Fry to the warning track when he started to have trouble with the sun.<\/p>\n

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His left fielder, Colby Thomas, was able to help him out.<\/p>\n

\u201cColby was talking to me the whole way through,\u201d Gelof said (h\/t Mart\u00edn Gallegos). \u201cI feel like he had a controller and was literally telling me where to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

With one game at center field under his belt, Gelof started in right field Monday against the Los Angeles Angels. He recorded four put outs in four total chances.<\/p>\n

Gelof made his first Cactus League appearance on March 9, marking the end of rehabbing a dislocated shoulder he suffered in September. He missed the beginning of 2025<\/a> as well due to a wrist injury that required surgery just before Opening Day. He played just 30 games in total last season.<\/p>\n

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While Gelof was out of commission, the A\u2019s rotated in many position player prospects. The team has depth in both the infield and outfield, so becoming a utility player might be Gelof\u2019s best option with the A\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cVersatility in today\u2019s game is always an added bonus,\u201d Kotsay said (h\/t Mart\u00edn Gallegos). \u201cZack was a good second baseman, and he still will be. But to have the ability to transition to the outfield, it would be huge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aside from his ability to stay healthy, Gelof has struggled at the plate since his prolific 2023 debut. He finished the 2023 MLB season with a .269 batting average and 14 home runs in 69 games.<\/p>\n

In 2024, his batting average dipped to .211, and he hit just three more home runs despite playing twice the number of games as his previous season. He struck out 188 times that season, the most in the American League.<\/p>\n

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But with the return of his health and some mechanical tweaks, Gelof believes he close to his 2023 form.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I\u2019ve found my starting position [at the plate],\u201d Gelof said (h\/t Mart\u00edn Gallegos). \u201cMy direction feels really good. Right now, I\u2019m just focusing on approach, trusting my process and trying to hunt the right pitch to stay through the middle of the field.\u201d<\/p>\n

In five spring training games, Gelof has gone 5-for-16 at the plate with one double and one RBI. It\u2019s unclear if he will make the Opening Day roster, but the 26-year-old utility man is doing his best at the plate and at multiple positions to make his case.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Athletics’ Zack Gelof embracing outfield experience with role in question originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area After…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":627336,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2391],"tags":[146,537,5,51,28330,8064,1332,56,4215,15635,4,3226,3291],"class_list":["post-627335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-athletics","tag-arizona","tag-athletics","tag-baseball","tag-cleveland-guardians","tag-colby-thomas","tag-david-fry","tag-jeff-mcneil","tag-los-angeles-angels","tag-mark-kotsay","tag-martin-gallegos","tag-mlb","tag-mlb-athletics","tag-zack-gelof"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116241892801884360","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/627335","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=627335"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/627335\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/627336"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=627335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=627335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=627335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}