Athletics Beat
By Martin Gallegos

Friday, October 10

Brent Rooker, Nick Kurtz, Tyler Soderstrom, Shea Langeliers

Hello! Welcome to another edition of the A’s beat newsletter.

The story of the 2025 Athletics can be best described as a three-part series.

 

The first chapter was an encouraging start to the season that saw the A’s go 22-20 over their first 42 games. Then came an utterly perplexing stretch from May 14-June 4 in which they lost 20 of 21 games. Finally, a 53-46 record in the immediate aftermath of that 1-20 skid from June 5 on, including a finish with one of MLB's best records since July 24 at 34-24.

 

Despite ending up with a 76-86 record, a seven-win improvement from the previous year, there’s no dancing around that 1-20 slump that in some ways defined their season, or the fact that the A’s fell short of their goal set in Spring Training of competing for a playoff spot. It’s the combined 75-66 record before and after that 21-game nightmare, however, that has the club encouraged about 2026.

 

“There’s a lot of ways to slice up this season,” A’s general manager David Forst said. “You cut up the record and performance in the second half, that says that we are heading in the right direction and had a lot of successes to be very proud of in 2025.

 

“I thought [manager] Mark [Kotsay] and his staff showed a ton of resolve getting through what we went through in May and really coming out the other side making adjustments, learning from what we went through and putting a lot of guys in a position to succeed in the second half. I’m not here to say 76 wins is what we set out to do in February, but I feel really good about what we accomplished this year.”

 

Before taking that next step towards getting back to playoff baseball, here are five questions the A’s must answer this offseason:

Luis Severino

1. Can this pitching staff get them to October?

 

The A’s offense performed as a top-10 unit across MLB in most categories and featured no shortage of firepower, from sluggers such as rookie sensation Nick Kurtz, Brent Rooker, Shea Langeliers and Tyler Soderstrom, to dynamic table-setters like Jacob Wilson and Lawrence Butler, all of whom remain under contract for the foreseeable future.

 

Getting the pitching on par with or as close as possible to the hitting will be key. As of now, the A’s 2026 rotation projects to once again be anchored by veterans Luis Severino and Jeffrey Springs and rounded out by promising but much less experienced starters such as Luis Morales, Jacob Lopez and Jack Perkins. Top prospects, including MLB Top 100 arms Jamie Arnold (MLB No. 38) and Gage Jump (MLB No. 60) could soon enter that mix. The A’s also have a deep enough farm system to swing a trade for another proven starter should they decide to go that route.

Leo De Vries

2. Will we see Leo De Vries next year?

 

After joining the A’s in a blockbuster deal that sent All-Star closer Mason Miller to the Padres at the July 31 Trade Deadline, it only took De Vries 15 games in his new organization to earn a promotion, moving up from High-A Lansing to Double-A Midland on Aug. 18. From there, the 18-year-old shortstop helped Midland to the Texas League Championship Series, batting .281 with a .910 OPS in 21 games for the Rockhounds.

 

It would normally seem a bit outrageous to wonder if a teenager with only a few weeks of Double-A experience could reach the big leagues in 2026, but De Vries is different. Rated the A’s No. 1 prospect and the No. 3 overall prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline, De Vries projects to be a star at the highest level, and as Wilson and Kurtz showed with their incredibly fast tracks to the Majors, the A’s will not hesitate to call him up as soon as they deem him ready.

Elvis Alvarado and Shea Langeliers

3. Who is the closer?

 

The A’s traded away an All-Star closer in Miller and somehow got better in the relief department, ending the year with a 2.99 bullpen ERA since July 31 that ranked second-lowest in MLB over that stretch. Through that period, the A’s mixed and matched the late innings, with relievers such as Elvis Alvarado, Michael Kelly, Sean Newcomb, Tyler Ferguson, Justin Sterner and Hogan Harris stepping up to help finish off victories.

 

Ideally, the A’s would like to have a set closer for the long term, whether that be one of the current relievers on the roster or acquiring someone with closing experience via trade or free agency.

 

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Nick Kurtz and Jacob Wilson

4. Who is next in line for an extension?

 

The A’s locked up Kotsay and a pair of core players in Rooker and Butler with long-term deals over the past year. Asked whether other young players such as Kurtz or Wilson could receive contract extensions this offseason, Forst said it is a real possibility.

 

“I’ve had a lot of conversations with ownership about wanting to continue that model and locking guys up into our time in Las Vegas,” Forst said. “It’s a two-way street, but I imagine we’ll be initiating some of those conversations in the next months.” 

Zack Gelof

5. What do the A’s do at second base?

 

Zack Gelof, once viewed as the A’s second baseman of the future and a potential cornerstone piece, is coming off a down 2024 campaign and injury-riddled ‘25 season that ended prematurely due to a dislocated left shoulder. This likely leaves the position wide open come Spring Training, with Darell Hernaiz and Max Muncy as the top in-house candidates, along with Gelof, depending on how he recovers from his injury.

 

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