One Adjustment to A's Infield Could Unlock Offense

There were a lot of questions about the A's infield coming into this season. Most of those questions were quickly answered with Jacob Wilson's hot start to the season and Nick Kurtz getting the call a month into the season, effectively taking care of shortstop and first base for the foreseeable future.

Wilson and Kurtz will be staples in the A's lineup for hopefully many years to come. Wilson is chasing Kurtz for American League Rookie of the Year, and both are putting up numbers you would not expect from rookies, making many believe that they'll finish first and second in the American League's Rookie of the Year voting.

The A's do have some question marks at the other two infield positions lingering, however. Zack Gelof was poised to have a bounce-back season after his "sophomore slump," but suffered an injury that led him to miss most of the year.

Since he has returned to the A's lineup, he has struggled mightily at the plate, batting .173 with a .527 OPS and striking out a staggering 50.9% of the time. The A's DFA'd Luis Urías when they recalled Gelof, signaling he would get the opportunity to play every day.

So far, it is not looking good for the once top-five prospect in the organization, though he has shown some signs of late, hitting two homers in his past five games, including a three-hit performance in St. Louis on Monday. We're dealing with a pretty small sample size at the moment, but the strikeout rate is certainly a concern coming off of 2024 when he K'd at a 34.4% clip.

The A's are using the rest of this year, where they are not competing for a spot in the postseason, to get an extended look at Gelof. If he does not improve, which would be unfortunate given how talented he looked in his rookie year, they may be forced to consider other options at second base.

One name that the A's will certainly look to keep in the picture is Darell Hernaiz. The A's recalled Hernaiz this summer, and he has looked like he is finally putting it all together. The 24-year-old who was acquired from the Baltimore Orioles for Cole Irvin is playing every day for the A's.

He was playing shortstop when Wilson was hurt, then moved to second base before Gelof was recalled, and now he is playing regularly at third base. His defense has been largely terrific, which is an area the club has been looking to improve upon all season.

Hernaiz is hitting .252 with a .688 OPS, which is not amazing, but it is playable with his glove. He has racked up four Outs Above Average (OAA) since he was recalled, helping an A's team that has had their struggles on defense. Another reason Hernaiz is playing every day is that he rarely strikes out, holding a 13.2% strikeout rate with a 9.6% walk rate.

If Gelof does not find what he used to have at the plate, Hernaiz will be a prime candidate to take over at second base because the A's may may have different plans at third base.

Tyler Soderstrom to third base in 2026?