The Athletics are getting trade interest on Jacob Wilson, even after a season that was derailed by shoulder trouble and ended with surgery.
Wilson’s 2026 line - .266/.298/.388 across 337 plate appearances - was a sharp drop from the breakout he put together the year before. He sprained his left shoulder in May while diving for a Gunnar Henderson grounder, missed only a month at first, then dealt with renewed discomfort that sent him back to the injured list for good in late August. He had season-ending surgery in early September.
Even with that injury history and the $66MM still left on his contract, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports that rival clubs have been poking around. That doesn’t necessarily mean much beyond due diligence, or teams testing whether the A’s might be tempted by a light offer. There’s no sign the Athletics are actively shopping him, and a deal would come as a surprise considering Wilson signed his long-term extension with the club just last January.
Still, the front office picture has changed. Wilson’s extension came under former GM David Forst, while new president of baseball operations Taylor Smith could view the shortstop differently as a long-term piece.
The lack of a recovery update only adds another wrinkle. If Wilson is expected to miss a meaningful chunk of 2027, that could affect how the A’s approach any trade conversations.
Any club interested in him would also want a full medical review after the surgery.
Wilson’s rise came fast. The sixth overall pick in the 2023 draft reached the majors barely more than a year later and got into 28 games for the A’s in 2024.
Then came the big jump in 2025, when he hit .311/.355/.444 with 13 homers over 523 plate appearances, finished second in AL Rookie of the Year voting and picked up some down-ballot MVP support. His offensive profile has drawn the Luis Arraez comparison because he puts the ball in play so often, even if hard contact isn’t a big part of the package.
The glove is part of the conversation too. Wilson was graded below average defensively in 2025, and Defensive Runs Saved had him at minus-6 in 2026.
Outs Above Average painted a more favorable picture, with Wilson moving from minus-3 OAA in 2025 over 1053 2/3 innings at shortstop to plus-9 over 637 1/3 innings in 2026. Those questions might matter less if top shortstop prospect Leo De Vries develops as expected and Wilson eventually slides to second or third base.
But De Vries had his own shoulder surgery and is expected to be out until at least May 2027.
If the A’s did move Wilson, they’d be opening another hole in the infield and removing a layer of insurance for De Vries’ eventual arrival. On the other hand, Smith could try to patch the position with a veteran shortstop, or turn to internal options like Joshua Kuroda-Grauer or Alika Williams. A Wilson deal could also bring back the kind of young pitching help the A’s need, and possibly even a veteran pitcher with a bigger salary to help balance out Wilson’s $66MM remaining deal.
It’s not a clean bad-contract swap, though. Wilson is still young enough and talented enough to make that kind of move complicated, which is part of why a trade still feels unlikely.
But if Smith is going to reshape this roster and upgrade the pitching, he may have to get creative. Free agents haven’t exactly been lining up to spend time in Sacramento’s hitter-friendly park, and it’s still unclear whether the Athletics’ new home in Las Vegas will tilt the same way for hitters.
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