Adding help at either second or third base has been on the A’s checklist since the start of the offseason. It appears they are content with one outside pickup. General manager David Forst said this Martin Gallegos of MLB.com that the A’s view McNeil as their primary second baseman. They plan to leave the third base job open for a Spring Training competition between a few players already on the roster.
“We’ll probably look at third base internally,” Forst told Gallegos. “Max Muncy did a very good job there in his limited time. Darell Hernaiz has shown that he can play in this position. Brett Harris has a lot of experience at third base. So I like our internal options.” Forst didn’t specifically mention it Zack Faithwho is questionable for the start of exhibition play as he works back from shoulder surgery in September. Gelof was a third baseman in college but hasn’t played anywhere other than second since reaching Triple-A at the end of the 2022 season.
None of Muncy, Harris or Hernaiz showed much in the limited playing time in the big league. Harris was the best of the group offensively, hitting .274 with a .349 on-base percentage. That came in just 84 at-bats, and he was a .146/.276/.262 hitter in a similar amount of playing time as a rookie the year before. Muncy struck out in 31% of his first 220 trips to the plate in the major leagues, hitting .214/.259/.379. Hernaiz made a lot of contact with below-average exit velocities. He managed just two home runs and a .231/.292/.306 line over 197 trips to the plate. Gelof showed some promise when he hit 14 home runs in 69 games as a rookie in 2023. He led the American League in strikeouts in his first full season and struggled with injuries for most of the ’25 season, which dropped him down the depth chart.
On paper, it is one of the weakest third base groups in the MLB. 19 year old top performer Leo De Vries will probably open the season in Double-A. It’s not out of the question that he will find his way to the major leagues before the end of the year, especially if the A’s remain stuck in the playoff bubble. That won’t be a consideration, so the A’s will need someone from their group of top-level infielders to step up.
If the A’s wanted to go outside the organization, they could probably get a veteran like that Yoan Moncada or Ramon Urias on a cheap one-year deal closer to Spring Training. That doesn’t seem to be the current plan. The acquisition of McNeil increased their projected payroll to $87 million, as calculated by Grid source. That’s $12 million more than where they opened the ’25 season. They have not yet made any moves to upgrade a rotation that was 27th in ERA and 25th in strikeout rate. Forst reiterated to Gallegos that acquiring a starter “is the primary focus right now.”
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