Good morning, A’s fans - and happy Friday.
October is here, which means the postseason is heating up while the A’s start sorting through an offseason full of decisions. The Wild Card round wrapped up yesterday, and the bracket is now set for the Division Series.
The Yankees, White Sox and Padres all moved on in two games, knocking out their opponents and advancing to face the Rays, Guardians and Brewers, respectively. The Braves needed all three games in their matchup with the Phillies, but they came out on top and now get the Dodgers next.
For the A’s, though, the more immediate question is what kind of roster they’ll be building when they try to get back to the playoffs in 2027 - assuming there is a season.
There’s already been some turnover in the coaching staff. Manager Mark Kotsay is still in place, but pitching coach Scott Emerson, assistant hitting coach Chris Cron and quality control coach Marcus Jensen have all been let go.
Before the front office can even start shopping in free agency, it has a few contract calls to make. Right-hander Luis Severino has five days after the World Series ends to decide whether to take his $22 million player option or walk away from it. Severino missed most of 2026 with a shoulder injury.
Then there’s Jeffrey Springs and Jeff McNeil, both sitting on $15 million club options. The Athletics are expected to pay Springs’ $750,000 buyout and send him into free agency. McNeil’s situation is a little different: the New York Mets are on the hook for his $2 million buyout, and he’ll likely reach the open market as well, giving the A’s a chance to bring him back for less or watch him sign elsewhere.
Once those pieces are settled, the A’s should be ready to attack the market. How aggressive they get, though, may depend on how the free-agent and trade landscape develops with the possibility of a lockout starting Dec. 1 hanging over everything.
The big question now is whether players will move faster than usual this winter or whether the market will slow to a crawl. And with the Division Series about to begin, predictions are already in order.
In Other News...
As Opening Day Battle Just Got Real For Several Familiar Names
Jeffrey Springs, Max Muncy and Denzel Clarke all spent enough time in the conversation this season to still matter when the Athletics start mapping out 2027, but the picture around each of them has changed fast. Springs never found his footing on the mound, Muncys hold on third base remains uncertain, and Clarke has had more than just performance questions hanging over him as the organization keeps sorting through its next wave of talent.
The most immediate pressure point is on the pitching side, where Springs now looks like the likeliest of the three to be squeezed out when Opening Day decisions come around. Clarkes path has also gotten tougher after the hamstring strain and bone bruise, and with younger outfielders crowding the depth chart, the Athletics suddenly have less reason to wait for roles to sort themselves out. [Read more 🡒]
Athletics 2027 Hype Comes Down To One Huge If
The Athletics 2026 season left plenty of room for optimism, but only if a few key pieces start holding up at the same time. A number of young and returning players could help lift the roster in 2027, and the clubs small-market reality means there is never much margin for error when it comes to building depth and keeping the core available.
What still stands out, though, is how much of the discussion comes back to the mound, where the staff needs to be steadier for the rest of the roster to matter. In a crowded American League, Oakland can dream about a real step forward if the lineup and health break right, but everything depends on whether the pitching can stop being the thing that keeps the team from turning a hopeful setup into a true contention window. [Read more 🡒]
Athletics Enter An Offseason That Could Shape Their Vegas Timeline
The Athletics are heading into an offseason that already carries unusual weight, because so many of the franchises next steps tie directly into the larger question of how and when the move to Las Vegas keeps advancing. Before the club gets too far down that road, it still has a lot of standard baseball business to sort through, starting with a new general manager and then working through the usual calendar of contract decisions, winter meetings and the Rule 5 Draft.
There is also a sense that the schedule itself could become part of the story if a lockout changes how the winter unfolds. For a team trying to manage both baseball decisions and a bigger organizational transition, every date matters, from personnel choices to league gatherings, and the way the front office handles this stretch may say plenty about how prepared the As are for what comes next. [Read more 🡒]