The Athletics may be staring at more than just two All-Star nods. Nick Kurtz and Shea Langeliers earning starting spots feels like a snapshot of where the franchise is right now - and maybe a hint at where it’s headed.
Both players have been central to the team this season, and their selections matter well beyond July. Kurtz, especially, looks like the kind of player a club can build around for years. Langeliers is a little more complicated, since his long-term future with the Athletics is still uncertain, but the bigger point remains: this is a team with one, and possibly two, real cornerstones.
That kind of foundation is not easy to find. Even with the Athletics struggling lately and likely missing the postseason, the overall direction still points toward a young club with a real chance to rise.
Two clear All-Star starters suggest the roster is not far off. A move or two, and the whole picture could look different.
Kurtz’s path to the All-Star Game was not the usual one. He was not chosen as a starter through the fan vote.
Instead, he moved into the spot after Vlad Guerrero Jr. opted not to participate. From there, Kurtz got the most player votes, and that’s the part that says the most.
Being first in player voting means more than just putting up numbers. It means production, yes, but it also means respect.
Kurtz earned both. That kind of standing matters, especially for a team that may soon be trying to sell free agents on what’s coming next, with the move to Vegas approaching.
All-Star recognition almost always pushes a player’s value higher, and that applies here too. Kurtz is in contract negotiations and remains under team control until 2031. Langeliers is set to become a free agent in 2028.
Kurtz is going to cost a lot. There’s no getting around that.
Langeliers could be even trickier, with Scott Boras as his agent and a reputation for being a tough negotiator. Add an All-Star selection to the mix, and the price only climbs.
For the Athletics, this feels like a turning point. The next step matters. Whether that means paying up to keep these players in place or adding more talent around them, the franchise has to make the right move.
In Other News...
As Draft Focus Is Creating Real Tension Around The No. 8 Pick
With the eighth pick in the MLB Draft, the Athletics are in a spot where the board could push them in a few different directions, but pitching remains the clearest thread. Two left-handers keep surfacing in that conversation: Hunter Dietz, the Arkansas college arm with a polished mix and real upside, and Gio Rojas, the high-schooler whose stuff has already put him among the classs most intriguing pitchers. The As have plenty to weigh, and the appeal of adding another arm with starter traits is obvious given where they are in the draft.
Dietz brings the safer feel of a college pitcher, while Rojas offers the kind of ceiling that can make a front office lean in if the draft starts breaking a certain way. Oakland could still pivot if the names ahead of them create a different opening, and there are other bats and arms in the mix as the first round unfolds. For now, though, the tension is less about whether the As want pitching and more about which type of pitcher they trust most when their turn finally arrives. [Read more 🡒]
As Road Trip Opens With The Kind Of Test That Changes Everything
A road trip that opens in Detroit and then rolls on to Chicago gives the Athletics little room to ease into the week, especially with the Tigers lining up one of the more difficult arms they will see. Oakland gets J.T. Ginn in the series, and he has at least given the club a steadier look lately after a strong six-inning outing, but the bigger backdrop is a team trying to stop the slide before it hardens into something more damaging in the standings.
The challenge is even sharper because Detroit can answer with Tarik Skubal, a pitcher whose return has already changed the tone around that rotation and around the market that may follow him. If the A's are going to make this trip matter for the right reasons, they will need sharper work from the top of the staff and a cleaner showing than what has defined much of the recent stretch, with Chicago waiting next as another test that can expose where this group really stands. [Read more 🡒]