November 27, 2025 1:03 AM PST
Athletics general manager David Forst will be back in that job next year, he tells . His previous contract ran through 2025. It was last week that he and the As were in discu sions to keep him around. It now seems he and the club have worked out a new pact of some sort, though he didnt provide any specifics. Forst was hired as a scout for the As back in 2000 and moved up the front office ranks over the years. After the 2022 season, he took over the top job in the front office when Billy Beane moved into more of an advisory position. So far, Forsts tenure has seen the club in rebuild mode. They went 60-102 in 2022, the year before he was hired. That record dropped to 50-112 in the following season but has been ticking up since. The As won 69 games last year and got up to 76 here in 2025. Ideally, Forst can help the club take another step forward in 2026. The As have a bit of momentum, as they went 35-29 in the second half this year. What remains to be seen is what kind of resources he will have to work with in building the 2026 roster. Last offseason, multiple reports indicated the As needed to get their competitive balance tax number over $105MM or else they would risk a grievance from the MLB Players A sociation related to their revenue-sharing status. That prompted the As to throw some money around. They signed and to eight-figure deals, acquired and gave extensions to and . pegs their 2025 CBT number at $118MM, though that number is slated to be just $77MM next year. Arbitration raises for players like and will bump that up, but only slightly, as both of those guys will be qualifying for arbitration for the first time. If the As have to hit a similar CBT target in 2026, then we could see them doing some more spending this winter. The starting rotation would be a natural target since that was a weak point for the club in 2025, though finding pitchers to take their money will be a challenge. The As are playing in a minor league facility as they await the construction of their new home in Las Vegas. No free agent pitchers will have the As atop their wish list. The industry consensus is that the club had to overpay to lure in Severino and he still about his plight. Perhaps that will lead the As to take on money in trade or sign a few more extensions. Per , Forst says he has had a Trevor Ariza Jersey lot of conversations with ownership about the po sibility of extending young players like and . Kurtz came up this year and had just about the best debut that anyone could have hoped for. He hit 36 home runs in just 117 games. His 30.9% strikeout rate was certainly high but he also walked at a strong 12.9% clip. The result was a .290/.383/.619 batting line and 170 wRC+. He wasnt called up until late April but seems highly likely get a full year of service time anyway. Under the current collective bargaining agreement, top prospects can be retroactively awarded a full year of service time if they finish in the top two of Rookie of the Year voting. Kurtz is the industry favorite to win the award in the American League this year. That would still leave the As with five years of club control but it would mean Kurtz is slated to hit free agency after his age-27 season, instead of age-28. That greatly increases his earning power since teams greatly value that youth. Some large extensions have been given out to players this early in their careers. Guys like , , and have received nine-figure guarantees with le s than two years of service time. However, those players offered more value via their baserunning and defense than Kurtz, who is a first baseman without speed. is perhaps a closer analogue as a bat-first player. He got a $115MM extension from the Astros in 2022, though he was a bit further along in his career and just a few months away from qualifying for arbitration. Wilson will be between one and two years of service this winter, meaning he will also be five years away from free agency. He only hit 13 home runs this year but showed exceptional contact skills. His 5.2% walk rate was subpar but his 7.5% strikeout rate was miniscule, about a third of the league-wide average. That helped him slash .311/.355/.444 for a wRC+ of 121. He provides more defensive value than Kurtz as a shortstop but his reviews at that position arent strong. He was credited with -10 Defensive Runs Saved this year and -2 Outs Above Average. Regardle s, FanGraphs still credited him with 3.5 wins above replacement this year and its po sible his glovework can improve over time. If the As are happy with the contributions from Kurtz and Wilson so far and if they are facing a similar grievance threshold this offseason, then exploring extensions makes plenty of sense. Though as is always the case in these situations, it takes two to tango and the players would have to be on board as well. Gallegos also one other detail relayed to the As, noting that Butler was playing through a patellar tendon strain in his right knee in the final few weeks of the season. He will visit a doctor, presumably soon, to see if surgery is required. Photo courtesy of D. Ro s Cameron, Imagn Images Jason Kidd Jersey
Athletics general manager David Forst will be back in that job next year, he tells . His previous contract ran through 2025. It was last week that he and the As were in discu sions to keep him around. It now seems he and the club have worked out a new pact of some sort, though he didnt provide any specifics. Forst was hired as a scout for the As back in 2000 and moved up the front office ranks over the years. After the 2022 season, he took over the top job in the front office when Billy Beane moved into more of an advisory position. So far, Forsts tenure has seen the club in rebuild mode. They went 60-102 in 2022, the year before he was hired. That record dropped to 50-112 in the following season but has been ticking up since. The As won 69 games last year and got up to 76 here in 2025. Ideally, Forst can help the club take another step forward in 2026. The As have a bit of momentum, as they went 35-29 in the second half this year. What remains to be seen is what kind of resources he will have to work with in building the 2026 roster. Last offseason, multiple reports indicated the As needed to get their competitive balance tax number over $105MM or else they would risk a grievance from the MLB Players A sociation related to their revenue-sharing status. That prompted the As to throw some money around. They signed and to eight-figure deals, acquired and gave extensions to and . pegs their 2025 CBT number at $118MM, though that number is slated to be just $77MM next year. Arbitration raises for players like and will bump that up, but only slightly, as both of those guys will be qualifying for arbitration for the first time. If the As have to hit a similar CBT target in 2026, then we could see them doing some more spending this winter. The starting rotation would be a natural target since that was a weak point for the club in 2025, though finding pitchers to take their money will be a challenge. The As are playing in a minor league facility as they await the construction of their new home in Las Vegas. No free agent pitchers will have the As atop their wish list. The industry consensus is that the club had to overpay to lure in Severino and he still about his plight. Perhaps that will lead the As to take on money in trade or sign a few more extensions. Per , Forst says he has had a Trevor Ariza Jersey lot of conversations with ownership about the po sibility of extending young players like and . Kurtz came up this year and had just about the best debut that anyone could have hoped for. He hit 36 home runs in just 117 games. His 30.9% strikeout rate was certainly high but he also walked at a strong 12.9% clip. The result was a .290/.383/.619 batting line and 170 wRC+. He wasnt called up until late April but seems highly likely get a full year of service time anyway. Under the current collective bargaining agreement, top prospects can be retroactively awarded a full year of service time if they finish in the top two of Rookie of the Year voting. Kurtz is the industry favorite to win the award in the American League this year. That would still leave the As with five years of club control but it would mean Kurtz is slated to hit free agency after his age-27 season, instead of age-28. That greatly increases his earning power since teams greatly value that youth. Some large extensions have been given out to players this early in their careers. Guys like , , and have received nine-figure guarantees with le s than two years of service time. However, those players offered more value via their baserunning and defense than Kurtz, who is a first baseman without speed. is perhaps a closer analogue as a bat-first player. He got a $115MM extension from the Astros in 2022, though he was a bit further along in his career and just a few months away from qualifying for arbitration. Wilson will be between one and two years of service this winter, meaning he will also be five years away from free agency. He only hit 13 home runs this year but showed exceptional contact skills. His 5.2% walk rate was subpar but his 7.5% strikeout rate was miniscule, about a third of the league-wide average. That helped him slash .311/.355/.444 for a wRC+ of 121. He provides more defensive value than Kurtz as a shortstop but his reviews at that position arent strong. He was credited with -10 Defensive Runs Saved this year and -2 Outs Above Average. Regardle s, FanGraphs still credited him with 3.5 wins above replacement this year and its po sible his glovework can improve over time. If the As are happy with the contributions from Kurtz and Wilson so far and if they are facing a similar grievance threshold this offseason, then exploring extensions makes plenty of sense. Though as is always the case in these situations, it takes two to tango and the players would have to be on board as well. Gallegos also one other detail relayed to the As, noting that Butler was playing through a patellar tendon strain in his right knee in the final few weeks of the season. He will visit a doctor, presumably soon, to see if surgery is required. Photo courtesy of D. Ro s Cameron, Imagn Images Jason Kidd Jersey