Six days after the World Series ended, the MLB offseason is officially underway, and the Athletics are stepping into it with a lot on their plate.
Free agency is open, which means players and agents can start talking with clubs and weighing whether to stay put or move on. For the A’s, next week’s General Manager Meetings in Las Vegas will be the first real checkpoint of the winter. That’s where all 30 teams will begin preliminary trade conversations and open discussions with free agent representatives, and it will also give the Athletics’ new president of baseball operations, Taylor Smith, his first chance to connect with his peers as he tries to shape the Green and Gold into a consistent American League contender.
Smith’s biggest baseball task is clear: improve a pitching staff that finished last in the majors. The A’s need help, and they need it in a hurry if they want to take a meaningful step forward next season.
But the front office isn’t the only part of the organization with major winter business ahead.
Owner John Fisher is part of a group pushing for a salary cap and floor system, a position the MLB Players Association strongly opposes. If the two sides can’t reach an agreement before the current labor deal expires Dec. 1, the owners could lock out the players until a new collective bargaining agreement is in place. With the two sides so far apart on the league’s economic structure, the nightmare scenario is a lockout that pushes back the start of the 2027 season or wipes it out entirely.
That kind of work stoppage would be a brutal hit to the sport, especially after the 1994-1995 strike and the damage it did to the game’s popularity. It would also be a gut punch for A’s fans, who could be denied the chance to watch the franchise’s final season in California before the move to Las Vegas in 2028.
So while the offseason opens with the usual free-agent buzz and trade chatter, the A’s are also navigating a winter with bigger questions hanging over the sport itself. The challenge now is making smart moves in the market while the league’s labor future remains unsettled.
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As New GM Could Shape The Fix For Oaklands Biggest Problem
The Athletics continue to reshape their front office, adding Cam Castro as general manager after the club announced the hire. Castro arrives from Milwaukee, where he had been working in player development and performance, and his addition follows the recent appointment of Taylor Smith, signaling another step in the organizations new leadership structure.
For Oakland, the timing matters because the next wave of decisions will help define how the club addresses its biggest on-field issue. Castros track record in development gives the As another experienced voice in the room as they look to build out a more coherent plan, and the early shape of that plan will be watched closely as the front office settles into place. [Read more 🡒]
As New Front Office May Already Be Eyeing A Big Outfield Shakeup
The Athletics front office overhaul has already started to show its Red Sox influence. After firing longtime general manager David Forst following a rough 2026 season, Oakland brought in Taylor Smith from Boston, and Smith has wasted little time putting his stamp on the roster by adding former Red Sox player Nate Eaton. It is the kind of early activity that usually signals a broader plan, especially for a club trying to reset after a disappointing year.
One name now circulating in that conversation is Jarren Duran, whose 2026 season fell well short of the standard he set in earlier years. For Oakland, the attraction is obvious: a player with a track record of impact who could fit into a reshaped outfield. The complication is just as obvious, since making room for another regular in center or left could force the As to consider moving Lawrence Butler, and nothing official has been decided yet. [Read more 🡒]