A's Zack Gelof Undergoes Successful Surgery

After it came out over the weekend that Athletics second baseman Zack Gelof would need surgery on his right hand and would miss the beginning of the season, the team sent out a press release with a status report.

"Zack Gelof underwent successful right hand surgery today with Dr. Steven Shin at Linden Surgical Center in Los Angeles. Dr. Shin performed a right hamate excision procedure to Gelof’s right wrist. He will begin rehabilitation in West Sacramento this week."

It appears as though a full recovery time is expected somewhere in the six to eight week timeframe from this particular surgery, which would keep Gelof out for about the first seven weeks of the season, if it were stretched for the full eight week recovery period. That said, every person is different and recovery times can vary.

With Gelof down for a chunk of time, the Athletics will be adding 2021 first round pick Max Muncy, 22, to their Opening Day roster, though his exact role has yet to be determined. Yesterday, Athletics on SI made the case that he should be given a chance to shine, especially in the team's opening series against the Seattle Mariners.

The team is also expected to carry veteran Luis Urías and utility-man Max Scuemann on their roster to start the season, giving them plenty of options all around the diamond.

One big looming question is what happens to the roster mix when Gelof is ready to return from his injury later this season? He has been seen as a member of the team's core since his debut in the second half of 2023, but he also had a down year in '24.

If Muncy is shining in his role with the club, does Gelof's role change?

The idea at some point this season would likely be to trade third baseman Gio Urshela to make room for one of their younger guys to take over that role, but seven weeks into the season likely isn't enough time to make that deal happen. That said, trading Urshela could still be the plan for 2025, just closer to the deadline, and perhaps only if the A's aren't in contention.

The simple answer that A's manager Mark Kotsay and the front office would have for this particular quandary right now would be along the lines of "we'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

In other words, injuries happen, underperformance happens--things happen. Sometimes there's no use in planning for these scenarios because the pieces never align to where that tough call needs to be made.

If Muncy is mashing and Urshela is proving to be a key veteran piece, then the answer would likely become, "It's a good problem to have."