The Athletics keep coming up just short, but the way this team has been playing lately suggests a breakthrough may not be far off.
Two one-run losses in a row, on Tuesday and Wednesday, have kept the skid going, yet the margins have been thin enough to hint at something better underneath the surface. The deadline is behind them, the playoffs are out of reach, and still there’s a case to be made that this group is closer to a turnaround than its record says.
A big reason for that optimism is the pitching. Jacob Lopez has only been on the mound for four games the Athletics have gone 1-3 in, but the numbers since the break have been strong: a 2.29 ERA, a 1.17 WHIP and 11.8 strikeouts per nine innings. That kind of production makes it hard to ignore what he’s bringing.
JT Ginn has also been impressive, and with Lopez trending up, the rotation is beginning to look more stable. Gage Jump is the exception right now, sitting on a 7.50 ERA since the break, and the A’s need him to get back on track if this staff is going to do more than just hang around. If Lopez, Ginn and Jump can all settle in, the wins should start coming more naturally.
There’s also an opening for Mason Barnett with Jeffrey Springs on the IL. Barnett’s latest outing against the Red Sox wasn’t flashy, but it gave the A’s something to work with: 5.0 innings, three runs and four hits allowed. If he and Jump can both improve, the rotation starts to look a lot sturdier on paper.
The lineup has been dealing with its own problems. Without Shea Langeliers and Nick Kurtz, the offense has lost some of its punch, and the absences of Joshua Kuroda-Grauer and Zack Gelof have only added to that. Even so, losing by one run in back-to-back games while shorthanded says something about how close this team is to being more dangerous.
Gelof is expected back soon once his rehab assignment in Las Vegas is finished. Kurtz and Kuroda-Grauer could follow later this month, unless the team decides to shut them down because of the lack of wins. Any one of those returns would give the offense a boost, and in games this tight, even a small bump can change the outcome.
That’s why the A’s still have a path to a late-season surge. The playoffs are gone, but if the pitching holds and a few bats come back, this team could still find a second wind before the year is over.
In Other News...
Athletics Pitching Prospect May Be Building Something Oakland Needs
Nathan Dettmer took another step forward for Midland on a night when the Athletics farm system had plenty of activity to sort through. The right-hander worked deep into the game and kept Frisco quiet, while Luke Mann supplied the offense with a home run and two RBIs in support of a sharp RockHounds effort.
For Oakland, outings like this matter because the organization has been looking for more reliable pitching depth to emerge from the lower levels. Dettmers mix of strikeout stuff and efficiency stood out in a system report that also included action across the Pacific Coast League, Midwest League and California League, but the bigger question is whether this kind of start is a sign of something more durable coming together. [Read more 🡒]
Athletics Just Made A Front Office Change At A Brutal Time
The Athletics are making a front office shift at an awkward moment, with general manager David Forst and the organization mutually agreeing to part ways. Forst had been with the club since 2000 and had served as GM since 2015, so this is a significant change for a franchise already juggling a difficult season and a looming move to Las Vegas for 2028.
Dan Feinstein will step in as interim GM for the rest of the 2026 season, giving the Athletics a new voice at a time when the current roster is sitting at 45-70. The timing only adds to the sense of transition around the club, which now has to keep moving forward on the field while its baseball operations leadership takes on a different look. [Read more 🡒]
Athletics Just Changed The One Job That Shapes Their Next Era
The Athletics are entering another reset in a front office that has already defined much of their recent identity, parting ways with David Forst after an extended run that stretched across a quarter-century with the organization. Forst had been the clubs general manager since 2015, and his departure lands at a moment when every decision around the roster and the business of rebuilding carries extra weight for a team still trying to chart a steadier path forward.
Assistant GM Dan Feinstein has moved into the interim role while the search for a permanent replacement gets underway, putting a familiar internal voice in charge during a transition that could shape the next era of the franchise. For the Athletics, the bigger question now is not just who fills the job, but what kind of direction the next hire will bring to a club that has spent years searching for something closer to stability. [Read more 🡒]