The Athletics have dealt with their fair share of injuries so far in the 2026 season, and yet another big piece of the squad has joined the injured list.
This time, it’s the A’s young star, Zack Gelof, who lost his hitting streak after exiting Tuesday’s contest with a hand injury, has been placed on the 10-day IL.
The injury came when the Giants’ Matt Chapman launched a ball off the left field wall, and Tyler Soderstrom gunned him out at second base by a mile. As Chapman was going to dodge the tag, he stepped on Gelof’s hand, and he ran right off the field into the clubhouse with the trainers.
The corresponding move is the team recalling the hot-hitting Alika Williams. We have discussed how the team has been doing Williams dirty recently, as he has been amazing on both sides of the ball.
Jacob Wilson Could Also Head to the IL
Since Jacob Wilson was removed from Wednesday’s contest after reinjuring his shoulder, it looks like the team will have to rely on Alika Williams playing the everyday shortstop role.
It’s very unfortunate to see Wilson potentially hitting the IL once again, as that same shoulder caused him to miss time earlier this season. In all likelihood, following the Giants’ series, he will likely join Gelof on the IL.
Not only is Wilson a crucial piece of the A’s lineup, but he’s also an excellent defender. Not that Alika Williams isn’t a good defender, but losing his glove could also really hurt the team, which has been losing more games than they should recently.
On the broadcast on Wednesday, they mentioned that Wilson will likely have to undergo shoulder surgery in the offseason, and now he’s just battling through it. However, he was removed from Wednesday’s game, and Mark Kotsay said he was pinch-hit for because his shoulder was bothering him to the point that he couldn’t swing the bat.
The A’s Infield Without Gelof and Wilson
It was certainly an interesting infield alignment the A’s rolled out in the ninth inning of Wednesday’s game, as Jonah Heim unexpectedly had to hit for Wilson.
Many expected that Carlos Cortes would enter to play second base, Jeff McNeil would’ve slid to third, and Muncy at shortstop.
Instead, the A’s left Heim in the game and put him at third base for the first time in his career. McNeil stuck at second, and Muncy moved to shortstop as expected.
Now with the team down Gelof, and most likely losing Wilson for a while as well, the A’s infield might get a little bit sketchy.
The A’s will still have Kurtz at first and will have to stick with McNeil at second base. Max Muncy can continue getting everyday reps at third base, and Alika will get his time at shortstop. The only way things will get difficult is if someone gets pinch-hit for or removed from the game for any reason.
Carlos Cortes was taking grounders at second base a few days ago, so don’t count out seeing Cortes in the infield at some point if needed.
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