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…
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