The Athletics announced today that second baseman Zack Gelof has been recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas. Fellow infielder Luis Urías has been designated for assignment as the corresponding move.
Urías, 28, signed with the A’s in the offseason. The one-year deal guaranteed him $1.1MM, with some bonuses based on plate appearances also in the deal. There was a time where it looked like that deal was going to work out quite well for the A’s. Urías hit .245/.345/.490 through the end of April, with that line translating to a 127 wRC+. In May, his production dropped a bit but was still passable. He still had a decent .244/.333/.407 line and 105 wRC+ by the start of June.
Unfortunately, things have soured from there. Since the end of May, Urías has a .217/.298/.276 line and 63 wRC+ in 171 plate appearances. With Urías an impending free agent and the A’s out of contention, he was a logical trade candidate. However, that dip in performance presumably tanked his trade value, as the A’s didn’t end up flipping him anywhere. A stint on the injured list in July for a right hamstring strain presumably didn’t help.
As Urías has been slumping, Gelof has been getting back on track in Triple-A. His 2025 season was initially thrown off course by injuries. He started the season on the IL due to hamate surgery. While trying to work his way back from that, he suffered a stress reaction in his ribs. He was reinstated from the IL in July but then hit .080/.143/.080 in eight games, at which point the A’s optioned him down to Vegas.
Since getting optioned, he has stepped to the plate 155 times for the Aviators. He has hit 11 home runs and drawn a walk in 11.6% of his plate appearances. His 27.7% strikeout rate is still high but something of an improvement for him. He has a 32.3% strikeout rate in his big league career. Even in Triple-A from 2022 to 2024, his 28.1% strikeout rate was a bit higher than what he’s done lately.
The A’s are 10.5 games back of a playoff spot, so they are in a spot where it makes sense to prioritize the future over the present. Urías was a few weeks away from returning to free agency, so he doesn’t do anything for them down the line. Gelof, on the other hand, could still be a part of the club’s future. He has just over two years of big league service time, meaning he hasn’t yet qualified for arbitration. He can be retained for four more years after this one. He will also still has two more option years after 2025, so future optional assignments could even extend the club’s window of control.
For now, it makes sense to give the second base job to Gelof. He has shown some good pop in his time, with 31 home runs in 875 big league plate appearances. He’ll need to cut down on the strikeouts but regular playing time could help with that. The A’s can give him the final few weeks of the season to see how he handles it. His performance in that stretch could determine if they look for external additions in the offseason or plan on Gelof being their second baseman in 2026.
Since the trade deadline has passed, Urías will be available on waivers in the coming days. There’s still about $200K left on his deal and he hasn’t been playing well lately, so it’s unlikely any club would claim him. If he if passed through waivers unclaimed, he has enough service time to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency. The A’s might skip that formality and simply release him.
Photo courtesy of David Richard, Imagn Images
Urias takes really quality at bats. Doesn’t strike out much and doesn’t chase much. He’s the type of player that adds balance to a lineup pf sluggers. His speed and range are below average, but I think he’ll get picked up by someone. Smart player too, doesn’t make dumb mistakes
A prospect with a 70-Grade hit tool that has a career .231 BA and a 21% k-rate.
Many (me too) thought he was going to be a perennial .300 hitter and win a batting title or three.
I think the PCL screwed him up.
As a Brewers fan I really miss him playing for the Brewers! I agree that injury’s tanked his career. He had so much potential.
He would be better than Mateo
He is steady in the field with a little pop in his bat. As mentioned above, he is indeed a “smart player.” I’d prefer a ball being hit to him in the late innings over someone else.
So where does this leave Hernaiz? He needs to play.
I would assume he plays some 3b, Harris is 27 and hasn’t shown much with the bat at the big league level. He can also get some spot starts at SS and 2b to give Wilson and Gelof a day off. So maybe 2 games a week at 3b, 1 at SS, 1 at 2b, and 2 days on the bench.
He competes with Gelof, Muncy, Harris for either 2B or 3B. Not to mention De Vries and Tommy White who could also both be up late next year.
Gelof has been slugging this month, yesterday I was wondering when Gelof was going to get the call. Looks like the A’s noticed too.
Milwaukee could REALLY use him as a good change-of-scenery candidate. Our infield depth is comically thin, and he could take ABs from Seigler, Monasterio, Ortiz, maybe Durbin too
Gelof has been struggling since 2023 where he was helped by a .331 BABIP in less than 3 months. Small sample size of success.
Back to the brewers, with Mil dfa’ing Bauers.
I really thought Tatis & Urías was going to be a good duo.
I remember when Padres traded him away how we felt we were giving away a franchise rock for a decade. And the first year or so it appeared that way. Boy the guy has slid since then.