Happy Wednesday A’s Fans.
Through 35 games, the Athletics have held their own, with an 18-17 record that has kept them in first place in the American League West for the moment. The team has maintained a slightly above .500 record despite several members of its pitching staff not performing well. For example, right-hander Luis Morales started the team’s third game of the season, but is now at Triple-A figuring out how to succeed against MLB hitters.
Additionally, the team’s offense has not reached
its full potential. Catcher Shea Langeliers has been the main driving force, yet he needs more help. First baseman Nick Kurtz is reaching base at least once per game, but not doing much damage at the plate. He and Tyler Soderstrom are particularly struggling against left-handers this season. Lastly, designated hitter Brent Rooker is still searching for his rhythm after an oblique injury.
Then there is Lawrence Butler, who has work to do to fully live up to the team-friendly contract extension he signed a couple of years ago. While Butler is a solid defender, he continues to struggle offensively. He only has 18 hits in his first 100 at-bats of 2026. The few times he does reach base via a hit or a walk, he makes poor base-running decisions. Butler has already been picked off six times this season, more than any other player in the league.
A’s manager Mark Kotsay has not helped matters, leaning too heavily on the platoon-matchup strategy for his daily lineup construction. Normally when one of your players wins the American League Player of the Week award, you keep him in the lineup and hope he will keep contributing. That has not been the case for Athletics’ outfielder Carlos Cortes, who has sat on the bench nearly every game since winning that award. The logical explanation is that the team wanted right-handed hitter Colby Thomas starting in his place against opposing teams’ left-handed pitchers. However, it is not like Cortes has a history of futility against southpaws and now may have crashed back down to earth due to not playing daily.
If the Athletics want to have a successful road trip through Philadelphia and Baltimore, Kotsay needs to put the best starting nine on the field, or else the team could be at risk of a second-straight back-breaking May.
A’s Coverage:
- A’s drop one to Phillies 9-1
- A’s trade for Jonah Heim to fortify catching depth
- Langeliers HRs twice on wife’s b-day, then welcomes 1st child; taking time off
- Civale and Soderstrom lead Athletics to a Sunday Victory
- He once struck out Giancarlo Stanton. Now he engineers cars for Ford
- A Walk In The Park Is Nice…To A Point
- Three Things To Watch For The Athletics In May
- A’s Hold off Royals to Win Series Finale
- A Moment To Appreciate The Awesomeness That Is Carlos Cortes
- A’s defeat the Royals 5-2 behind Severino & Butler
- Another hard-luck injury (fractured hand) lands Muncy on IL
- Kurtz ‘starting to get back to himself’ — and that’s a scary prospect
- What the Athletics’ Hot Start Means for Their 2026 Trade Deadline Strategy
- When he Reached the New World, Cortes Burned Opposing Pitchers
MLB News and Interest:
- Skubal to have surgery for loose bodies in elbow; timetable TBD
- Marlins designate veteran starter Paddack for assignment
- May the 4th be with the ballpark: Inside MLB’s Star Wars obsession
- Handing out 2026 April grades to all 30 MLB teams
- John Sterling, beloved longtime Yankees radio voice, passes at 87
- Brewers activate Chourio, Vaughn from IL
- MLB 2026: How Mike Trout changed this winter to return to form
- Ranking MLB’s eight new managers at the one-quarter mark of the 2026 season
- Orioles sign Lou Trivino to major league contract
- Giants Designate Jerar Encarnacion For Assignment
- Today in Baseball History
Best of X:
Good to see injured prospects, right-handed pitcher Henry Baez and two-way player Shotaro Morii, back in action in extended spring training games in Arizona.
It might be worth keeping catcher Jonah Heim on the team for this reason:
The Athletics’ pitching staff clearly needs to improve if the team wants to make the leap towards playoff contention this season.
