Sam Fuld, former A’s outfielder and current Phillies President of Business Operations, became the first candidate offered the role of General Manager for the A’s — and then became the first candidate to say “No.” The search continues.
However, even though the A’s have not yet settled on their new GM, news of the offer to Fuld does offer some potential intel on what direction the A’s are going with regard to their search and the remaining candidates.
First off, much has been made of Fuld’s rejection
of the A’s offer as if it suggests that the gig of “A’s General Manager” is unappealing and that the team will be forced to settle for its 6th choice after the first 5 turn their nose up and tell John Fisher to pound sand.
I think it’s worth noting that Fuld’s role with the Phillies is not President of Baseball Operations, the “PBO” with which A’s fans are most familiar. Rather Fuld has transitioned into the title of a different “PBO”: President of Business Operations, consistent with his 2026 MBA degree at Wharton that suggests he has settled on where his primary interests lie.
So Fuld may have preferred, ultimately, to stay in Philadelphia where his family is settled. He may have preferred, ultimately, to stay with the Phillies organization where he has continued to grow and establish his position according to his career ambitions. He may have used the A’s offer to gain leverage for a raise or extension at his current job. We really don’t know.
What we do know is that the list of candidates grew to double digits at one point and there is no indication it is an unwanted gig. It just turned out not to be a fit for Fuld and the A’s for whatever reason, but the fact that the A’s chose Fuld — even if he didn’t choose them back — tells us a few things. Maybe.
1. One indicator is that the A’s made their first offer to a relatively young candidate, Fuld being 44, suggesting that the A’s might be more interested in a younger, hipper mindset than an “old guard” grizzled veteran of the industry. This would point the compass away from a candidate such as Mike Rizzo, the 65 year old former Washington Nationals GM with a 20 year career in the front office.
2. Another indicator is that the A’s made their first offer to a candidate regarded as more “analytics based” on the pedagogical spectrum. Once the Moneyball darlings of analytics, the A’s have fallen woefully behind the competition in recent years and may be looking to boost this side of their organizational toolkit.
3. Another indicator is that the A’s made their first offer to a candidate outside the organization. You would think that if after interviewing outside candidates the A’s felt the best choice was right under their nose the whole time, they would make the offer to their own employee first. This would point the compass away from Billy Owens or interim GM Dan Feinstein.
All this is consistent with the perceived “top choice now” being Red Sox Assistant General Manager Taylor Smith. Smith is on the young side of young, by baseball front office standards, barely 30. He headed Boston’s analytics department after being poached from Tampa Bay where he was a member of their research and development team. He not comes from outside the A’s organization but has a history with the small market/big success Rays, a team whose practices the A’s would be wise to emulate.
In many ways, Smith seems like a far more natural choice than Fuld in that Smith is on the GM track whereas Fuld seems to be cementing himself more narrowly in a business pathway and Smith has more background with a smaller market franchise.
This is not to say the A’s couldn’t announce tomorrow that they have hired Rizzo, or Owens, or the 48 year old James Click who comes with 21 years of front office experience. But the initial attempt to select Fuld may offer some clues as to where the search is heading — and perhaps ending in the coming days or hours…
