Does Moving Gelof to Center Mean the A's Are Ready to Move on From Clarke?

In the A's biggest series to date, they have utility-man Zack Gelof playing center for the first time in his career

Apr 14, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; Athletics center fielder Denzel Clark (1) reacts in the dugout after scoring a run against the Texas Rangers during the third inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images | Dennis Lee-Imagn Images

In what is arguably the biggest series of the season so far, the A's have been playing their "A" game on the road against the Seattle Mariners, taking the first two games and securing a series win with a chance for a sweep on Wednesday.

A's starters J.T. Ginn and Jacob Lopez have each turned in solid performances, both spanning 5 1/3 innings, keeping their team in each game and letting the offense go to work against Seattle's bullpen.

But the most striking adjustment the A's have made for this series has been putting Zack Gelof in center for the first time in his big-league career. The timing seems to indicate that the club knows how important this series is, and they want to put out the best starting lineup they feel they have.

But if that's the case, then where does that leave Denzel Clarke moving forward? The defensive wizard has unsurprisingly been one of the best gloves in the game, but his bat has still left a little to be desired. He's batting .170/.228/.189 with a 40% strikeout rate and an 18 wRC+ (100 is league average).

What to do with Clarke?

Apr 15, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; Athletics center fielder Denzel Clark (1) hits a RBI single against the Texas Rangers during the second inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images | Dennis Lee-Imagn Images

We have touched on Clarke possessing tremendous bat speed earlier this season, and that still holds true. He's sitting near the fastest bats in baseball with a speed of 77.2.

However, the speed he possesses isn't helping with his whiff rate (35.8%), chase rate (29%) or barrel rate (3.1%), so he's not making enough contact to do damage. That could be part of why he's sitting at the moment, to give him a couple of games to mentally reset and work on a couple of things in the cage, before getting back out there.

Meanwhile, Gelof has looked good in center. Not as good as Clarke, but nobody looks that good. He's also gone just 1-for-8 in the two games, so it's not like he's lighting the world on fire, either. But he has looked good in the box, and his past two hits have both gone to the opposite field. He also looks like he has a certain confidence—borderline swagger—in the box.

From what we can see, this could be an audition of sorts for Gelof. If he hits a little more in these opportunities, perhaps he will be the one to stick around when Brent Rooker is set to rejoin the team in the coming weeks. If he's hitting, he certainly provides more positional flexibility, and he could even slide over to right so that Lawrence Butler can play center, if needed.

On the other hand, Clarke is the best defender in baseball when he's on the field, and having solid defense up the middle can help mask some of the shortcomings that the pitching staff may have at times. Clarke has already saved several home runs from going over the fence in his 69-game career. That's valuable too.

Clarke is also able to drop a good bunt down and move runners over, which adds a dimension to this club that some may take for granted.

It's not a certainty what the A's plan is here, but putting Gelof into unfamiliar territory in a big series sure seems like a sign of what the A's are thinking.

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