Offseason Outlook: Athletics

The A’s went from 76 wins in 2025 to a 64-98 record this year, as a swath of injuries and continued poor pitching threw a wrench into the rebuilding efforts. New president of baseball operations Taylor Smith is now tasked with getting the A’s back on track in their final year in Sacramento. Guaranteed Contracts Tyler Soderstrom, LF: $84MM through 2032 (includes $2MM buyout of $27MM club option for 2033) Jacob Wilson, SS: $66MM through 2032 (includes $2MM buyout of $26MM club option for 2033) Lawrence Butler, OF: $58MM through 2031 (includes $4MM buyout of $20MM club option for 2032) Brent Rooker, OF/DH: $42MM through 2029 ($2MM club/vesting option for 2030) Luis Severino, SP: $22MM player option for 2027 Option Decisions Luis Severino, SP: $22MM player option for 2027 Jeff McNeil, 2B/1B/OF: $15.75MM club option for 2027 ($2MM buyout, to be covered by the Mets) Jeffrey Springs, SP: $15MM club option for 2027 ($750K buyout) 2027 guarantees (assuming Severino stays, and McNeil/Springs are declined): $47.5MM Total future commitments (assuming Severino stays, and McNeil/Springs are declined): $272MM Arbitration-Eligible Players (service time in parentheses) Shea Langeliers (4.051): $8.7MM Luis Medina (3.146): $1.4MM Zack Gelof (3.050): $2.9MM Hogan Harris (2.146): $2.3MM Non-tender candidates: None Free Agents Jonah Heim, Mark Leiter Jr. Between the Athletics’ penchant for internal promotions and former owner Charlie Finley running baseball operations himself, this is the first time in decades that the A’s front office has been run by a fresh voice new to the organization. The 31-year-old Smith is the youngest front office head in baseball, though he has plenty of experience in the sport — Smith was an assistant GM with the Red Sox for the past two seasons, and he spent the previous seven years working in the Rays’ research and development department. Smith’s background in analytics helped Smith win the job, and he’ll now try to solve a problem with incomplete data. It remains to be seen how the Athletics’ new stadium in Vegas will play when it opens in 2028, though the hitter-friendly nature of Las Vegas Ballpark (the home of the Triple-A Aviators) hints that the A’s might again find themselves in a park that is very conducive to offense. The roof and climate-controlled nature of the new ballpark might help pitchers to some extent, but the move from Sutter Health Park might not bring too much relief to the Athletics’ staff. This is ultimately a puzzle to be solved down the road, though the A’s certainly need pitching help now. The club’s rebuilding plan was pointed towards having a competitive roster by the time of the move to Las Vegas, and the Athletics were 38-38 on June 19 before things went south. It’s fair to wonder if the Athletics might’ve been able to mount some kind of run at the Astros (who won the division with a modest 81-81 record) if virtually the entire lineup hadn’t missed significant time to injury. But, even with better health, the A’s might’ve still been held back by their shaky pitching. Unlock Subscriber-Exclusive Articles Like This One With a Trade Rumors Front Office Subscription Access weekly subscriber-only articles by Tim Dierkes, Steve Adams, and Anthony Franco. Join exclusive weekly live chats with Anthony. Remove ads and support our writers. Access GM-caliber tools like our MLB Contract Tracker View Comments (0)