Welcome to Tuesday A’s fans.
After all the waiting, it’s finally over. The A’s have their newest front office leader, tabbing Red Sox assistant GM Taylor Smith to lead the organization as they wrap up their brief stay in Sacramento and begin the Las Vegas era.
Now that we have our guy it’s time to look at the next steps for the Athletics this offseason. There isn’t much time before the World Series wraps up and his first offseason steering the ship begins. Over the next few days he’ll begin staffing
his front office, bringing with him familiar names from his times in Boston and Tampa Bay.
We now also know how old Smith is. At the ripe age of 31, he’s now the youngest leader of a front office in the league:
Because of that, when considering who he’ll be bringing into the fold one would hope that he doesn’t forget to rely on an experienced voice every now and again. Billy Owen’s, who’s been in the A’s front office for a long time and interviewed for the GM role, could be a quality and experienced person for Smith to keep around. Or he could continue with the outside hires and invite someone fresh to the organization. Would he be able to poach one of his former co-workers in Boston like Michael Groopman, Raquel Ferreira, or Eddie Romero? All three of those people are also viewed as future front office leaders so getting any of them would only be a boost for Smith.
Once he has his second-in-command and the rest of his team set up he’ll need to decide whether he believes manager Mark Kotsay should stay on. His tenure in the dugout hasn’t gone all that well, though a lot of that has to do with the lack of talent the previous front office game him. Kotsay is signed through the 2028 season, though Smith likely has the green light to make a change this offseason if he so chooses. If Smith decides that he doesn’t have the right voice in the clubhouse yet, then he’ll have to make a quick turnaround and hire someone fast. A lot of the best candidates will find homes sooner than later.
Once he’s got the front office set up, and decided on Kotsay’s fate, only then will he be able to truly turn his full focus and attention to the roster. Former GM David Forst did a good job giving Smith a solid position player core to work with, one that should hopefully deliver a postseason trip sooner than later. There may be some tweaks here and there, and Smith could also make a bold move and trade Shea Langeliers at his peak value, but we’ll have to wait and see how he views this roster.
One way or the other, the pitching staff as a whole needs to be a major focus for Smith this offseason. With Ginn, Jump, and likely Severino, he’s got three spots more or less spoken for. Jacob Lopez pitched well down the stretch and is out of options so he could have an inside track as of now for a roster spot. And top prospect Jamie Arnold should be making his debut some time next year.
All that being said, depth is something he’ll have to focus on for the starting rotation. The bullpen however is going to need an entire makeover. There should be multiple openings in the Athletics’ bullpen entering the offseason and Smith’s goal should be to fill at least two of those spots with reliable arms that the manager next year, whether it’s Kotsay or not, can trust and turn to. And now the long work begins.
Have a good one guys.
A’s Coverage:
- A’s bring in Taylor Smith to run baseball operations
- Trade Candidate: Shea Langeliers
- The five biggest questions facing the A’s this offseason
- Inside the A’s State-of-the-Art Las Vegas Ballpark
- Pitching prospect Huggins growing his game with the help of this A’s Hall of Famer
- ’Be a sponge’: No. 19 prospect leads A’s Fall League group with do-it-all mentality
- A’s LHP prospect Richardson shows off health and resiliency during Fall League homecoming
- Zack Of All Trades Tries To Get One More Win: In Court
- Important Dates For The Athletics This Offseason
- 12 A’s Players Out of Options Heading Into 2027
- How MLB’s Proposed Changes Would Impact the A’s
- A’s part ways with assistant hitting, quality control coaches
- After an outfield collision left him paralyzed, every gain in rehab is a big win for A’s Ryan Lasko
- Why 2027 Athletics Will Be Completely Different Team
- A’s Las Vegas ballpark cost rises to $2.1B, public funding delayed
- 2026: Year Of The “Didn’t See That Coming!”
- A’s Hoping Luis Severino Chooses to Stay
- Where the A’s Plan to Use Zack Gelof in 2027
- Drafting The Top AL Graduated MLB Prospects From 2026
- Devin Taylor: Athletics 2026 Minor League Player Of The Year
- Athletics 2026 MLB Draft Report Card
- Henry Bolte Is the A’s Next Budding Star
- Determining Athletics’ Offensive MVP for the 2026 Season
- 2027 Infield Landscape Ever Changing
- Get the best of Athletics Nation on the new SB Nation app
MLB News & Interest:
- Rays finish off Guards to set up World Series clash vs. Crew
- NPB MVP, Triple Crown winner Sato to enter MLB posting system
- Orioles name ex-Cubs front office executive Banner as new GM
- Yankees manager Aaron Boone to return in 2027
- MLB qualifying offer for free agents rises to $23.15M, up 5.1% from last year
- Josh Bell Keeps Getting It Done
- Today in Baseball History
Best of X:
Sounds like Dallas approves of the new hire:
That’s one way things could change with Smith in charge:
A couple different opinions on the Smith hiring:
If he can fix the pitching, he’ll have done his job:
Smith might not be the only new name joining the A’s:
