The Athletics took another hit on Thursday night, and this one came on a play that looked like it should have been all reward.
In the third inning of the series finale against the Tigers at Comerica Park, Zack Gelof made a sliding catch in foul territory to record the first out. The catch was the kind that gets replayed. The problem came right after it, when his right knee slammed into the fenced portion of the side wall down the left-field line.
Gelof got back to his feet at first and hobbled toward his spot, seemingly checking whether he could shake it off. A few seconds later, though, he went back down and had to leave the game. He walked off under his own power with A’s head athletic trainer Jeff Collins and manager Mark Kotsay beside him.
For an A’s club that has already spent much of the year dealing with injuries, it was another painful turn. Brent Rooker, the team’s All-Star slugger, is already out for the season with a left knee injury. There had been some hope over the past week that the lineup was finally inching closer to full strength, especially after several players returned from the injured list, including Gelof, who was activated on Saturday.
Gelof’s season has been full of bad breaks. Earlier this year, he took a pitch off the helmet from Angels reliever Kirby Yates and missed one game. Not long after that, his right hand was stepped on while he was tagging out Giants third baseman Matt Chapman at second base, leaving him with a right hand laceration/contusion that kept him out from June 24-July 3.
If Gelof has to miss more time, it would be a significant loss for Oakland. He has become an important bat near the top of the order and has also given the A’s flexibility defensively at third base, second base and in left field. If he ends up on the IL again, the club does have options waiting at Triple-A Las Vegas, including Max Muncy, who was optioned there on Wednesday, along with Darell Hernaiz and No. 8 prospect Tommy White.
In Other News...
A's Fans Won't Love What's Already Happening In Las Vegas
Even before the Athletics have played a game in Las Vegas, the premium market is moving fast. The club has already sold most of its 294 Athletic Club seats behind home plate in the new domed stadium, a sign that demand is real for the teams future home on the Strip even as the franchises relationship with Oakland remains a sore point for many fans.
The pricing helps explain why the seats are going quickly. Those spots carry a $900-per-game tag and a one-time $100,000 personal seat license fee, putting them in the rarefied air of the new $2 billion ballpark. With the stadium set to feature 30,000 fixed seats, 3,000 standing tickets and other premium areas such as the Diamond Club and Dugout Club, the As are building a venue where the most expensive inventory is already drawing plenty of interest. [Read more 🡒]
As Rookie Joshua Kuroda-Grauer Is Already Doing Something Rare
Joshua Kuroda-Grauer has given the Athletics a quick jolt since reaching the majors, carrying over the kind of contact-oriented approach that got him noticed in Triple-A. Through July 8, the rookie was hitting .500 with 15 hits in 30 at-bats, and he has paired that early production with a strikingly low strikeout total in his first eight games.
The opening in Oakland came after Jacob Wilson was hurt, and Kuroda-Grauer has done more than just hold the spot down. He was already batting .352 in Triple-A before the call-up, and the early returns suggest the As may have found a player who can make immediate use of every chance he gets, even as the bigger question is how long this kind of start can last. [Read more 🡒]