Elephant Rumblings: Gelof undergoes surgery for hand fracture

MLB news roundup

Happy Tuesday, Athletics Nation!

Opening Day is just two days away, with the A’s scheduled to play their first regular season game of the post-Oakland era at Safeco Field in Seattle against the Mariners. Luis Severino tops the A’s rotation and will face off against Mariners fireballer Logan Gilbert.

Unfortunately, the A’s will open the season bereft of their starting second baseman Zack Gelof, who underwent surgery yesterday to repair a hamate bone fracture in his right hand.

Gelof sustained the injury when he was hit by a pitch last week. A’s manager Mark Kotsay previously said that he expected Gelof would be ready for Opening Day, and initial x-rays seemed unremarkable. But a subsequent MRI performed on Saturday revealed the fracture.

Martin Gallegos at MLB.com notes that there is an apt comparison that may inform what to expect in terms of Gelof’s recovery timeline: former A’s first baseman Matt Olson suffered a similar injury at the beginning of the 2019 season and was out until May 7. Olson still went on to crank out 36 home runs that year. But Kotsay said he deems Olsons recovery to be “a pretty accelerated timeline” in terms of what to expect for Gelof, and that “it could take longer” for Zack to return.

This is bad news for the A’s and Gelof, who must be champing at the bit to come back from a dismal 2024 season after flashing All-Star potential in his 2023 rookie campaign. Gallegos cited Luis Urías and Max Schuemann as potential stopgaps along with Max Muncy, who was named to the A’s Opening Day roster on Sunday.

Get well soon, Zack!

A’s Coverage:

• A’s drop spring finale, lose to White Sox 8-5
• Amid A’s hype, Sacramento still has to keep another baseball team happy ($)
• Five standout performers for Athletics this Spring Training
• A’s Should Give Max Muncy Chance to Shine
• Kansas City Royals Release Former A’s Pitcher

MLB News & Interest:

• What we learned from MLB’s spring robot-umpire test: Players, managers, execs weigh in ($)
• Braves Release Dany Jimenez
• Royals Acquire Mark Canha From Brewers
• Who will win the 2025 World Series? Our staff predicts the MLB champions, MVP and Cy Young ($)
• Ranking all 30 MLB teams’ Opening Day lineups: Dodgers, Braves lead way, Rangers power up ($)
• Landen Roupp Wins Final Spot In Giants’ Rotation
• Yankees Sign Ryan Yarbrough
• Latest On Jordan Montgomery
• Today in Baseball History

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