Saturday, December 06

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

The upcoming Winter Meetings will lay the foundation for what figures to be an important offseason for the Athletics.

Although they fell short of their goal of reaching the playoffs in 2025, the A’s did improve upon their ‘24 win total by seven games with a 76-86 record, and they finished strong by going 34-24 to close out a season that saw plenty of encouraging developments, perhaps none greater than the emergence of American League Rookie of the Year Nick Kurtz and runner-up Jacob Wilson. Now, the A’s must find a way to take that next step into serious postseason contention.

With the Winter Meetings getting underway on Monday in Orlando, here is everything you need to know:

Key Events

• Sunday, Dec. 7: HOF Classic Baseball Era Committee results released
• Tuesday, Dec. 9: MLB Draft Lottery
• Wednesday, Dec. 10: Rule 5 Draft

Club needs

While second base and third base remain without an established option, the A’s main focus is to improve on the pitching side, both in the rotation and in the bullpen. As the roster currently stands, Luis Severino and Jeffrey Springs are the only two established starters. Following them are some exciting but inexperienced young arms such as Luis Morales, Jacob Lopez and Jack Perkins. MLB Top 100 prospects Gage Jump (No. 60) and Jamie Arnold (No. 38) could also factor in soon.

The A’s remain without a set closer after trading Mason Miller to the Padres for a package headlined by Leo De Vries at the Trade Deadline and should also be in the market for a reliever with at least some closing experience.

Potential trade candidates

The A’s have a plethora of young outfielders, and trading from that depth could help them land a pitcher. Some names that could draw interest are Colby Thomas, who flashed some of his impressive power in the Majors last season, and top prospects such as Henry Bolte (ATH No. 5) and Ryan Lasko (No. 17), both of whom reached Triple-A in ‘25 and are close to Major League-ready. Tyler Soderstrom is a name that has been floated around as a potential trade candidate, though the A’s are not likely to part ways with him coming off a career-best year unless they get a hefty return.

Prospect to know

After coming over in the Miller deal, De Vries needed only 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 then-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, who turned 19 on Oct. 11, is different. Rated by MLB Pipeline as the A’s No. 1 prospect and the No. 3 overall prospect in baseball, 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.

Rule 5 Draft

Notable players who were not protected from the Rule 5 Draft by the A’s are catcher Daniel Susac (ATH No. 11 prospect), right-hander Kenya Huggins (No. 23) and first baseman Brennan Milone (No. 26).

The A’s have been quite active in making Rule 5 selections over the past several years. Last year, they selected right-hander Noah Murdock, who made the club’s Opening Day roster as a reliever before he was returned to the Royals later in the season. They would hold the eighth selection in this year’s Rule 5 Draft. However, their 40-man roster is full, which means they must clear a roster spot before Dec. 10 in order to make a pick.

Burning question

Will they add another proven starting pitcher?
If there is one thing you can almost guarantee about the Athletics for 2026, it’s that they’re going to hit. An offense led by the core of Kurtz, Wilson, Shea Langeliers, Brent Rooker, Soderstrom and Lawrence Butler formed what was a top-10 offensive unit across MLB in most categories, and that group remains under contract for the foreseeable future, with De Vries potentially joining the mix as early as next season. But if the A’s are going to improve upon their 76-win total from last season and make a serious playoff push, they will need more from their rotation, which combined for a 4.85 ERA that ranked fourth-highest in the Majors in ‘25.

Last offseason, the A’s helped set the market for starting pitching by striking early to sign Severino, then they traded for Springs shortly after. Those two remain their only starters with any sort of real track record of success in the Majors.

Ideally, the A’s would like to add another veteran starter. General manager David Forst has indicated that he expects payroll to increase, which could put them in play for a free agent, though he did acknowledge the difficulties of pitching at Sutter Health Park as a factor, which could make trading for a starter the more likely option.

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