The 2026 MLB playoffs opened yesterday with four Wild Card Series games, and the first wave of winners was the Chicago White Sox, Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees and San Diego Padres. Those clubs now move on with a chance to reach the Division Series, where the Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, Cleveland Guardians and Tampa Bay Rays are already waiting.
For Athletics fans, though, October still has a familiar thread running through it. The A’s are sitting out the postseason for a fifth straight year, but plenty of former Green and Gold faces are scattered across the bracket.
Stephen Vogt is the biggest one. A fan favorite in Oakland, he has now guided Cleveland to the playoffs in each of his first three seasons as manager. The source material puts it bluntly: in hindsight, the A’s should have hired him instead of Mark Kotsay, though that ship has sailed and Vogt is now in a far steadier place with the Guardians.
Former A’s players are practically everywhere this time of year. Matt Olson has started every game at first base for the Braves, who also have Sean Murphy as their backup catcher and Grant Holmes, once a minor leaguer in the A’s system, in the rotation. Jesús Luzardo, another former Athletic, started the Phillies’ first playoff game.
Houston’s roster includes Nick Allen, a former A’s draft pick who works as a backup infielder. The White Sox have Sean Newcomb, who spent 2023 through 2025 with the A’s, and he’s become an important piece of their bullpen.
The Yankees and Red Sox also have former A’s in prominent spots. Paul Blackburn and Sonny Gray both turned in strong seasons on the East Coast and are expected to matter if their clubs are going to make a real postseason push.
Out west, Aaron Civale, who the Athletics designated for assignment earlier this year, will pitch in relief for the Cubs. Across the field, the Padres are getting the payoff from Mason Miller, whose arrival in San Diego came after the A’s traded him at the 2025 deadline. Miguel Andujar is there with him too, joining his former teammate this season.
Yesterday also produced the postseason’s first true swing moment, with Atlanta Braves third baseman Austin Riley delivering it. And while the A’s remain on the outside looking in, the organization still has a major offseason issue waiting in the wings: the next general manager. The source says the club ideally wants someone in place before free agency opens after the playoffs end.
In Other News...
Liam Hendriks Leaves White Sox Fans Remembering A Remarkable Chapter
Liam Hendriks retirement announcement closes the book on one of the most compelling pitching careers of the era, a run defined as much by resilience as by results. Over parts of 14 major league seasons, he became a three-time All-Star and a two-time winner of the AL Reliever of the Year Award, building a reputation as a hard-edged late-inning force who brought real personality to the mound.
For Oakland fans, Hendriks also stands out as a reminder of how far determination can carry a player, especially after he battled Stage 4 Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma and Tommy John surgery along the way. He was also widely recognized for his philanthropy and competitive spirit, which made his career feel bigger than the numbers alone, even as the physical wear on his arm and elbow finally brought it to a close. [Read more 🡒]
Jack Perkins Has Given The Athletics A Real Role Debate
Jack Perkins 2026 season was rough on the surface, the kind of year that usually leaves a pitcher looking for answers more than opportunities. But the Athletics have reason to look a little deeper after he spent most of the year in relief and finished with stretches that suggested there may still be something to work with, especially when he was facing better competition and leaning on the kind of off-speed mix that can play up in shorter bursts.
Perkins is not suddenly pushing for a rotation spot on merit alone, and the As know that. Even so, his late-season work gave the club a real decision to sort through heading into next year: whether to keep treating him as a depth arm with upside in the bullpen, or to see whether there is a bigger role waiting if the pitching staff gets squeezed by injuries again. [Read more 🡒]
Donovan Walton Is Forcing His Way Into Oaklands Biggest Infield Debate
Donovan Walton spent his recent season making a case that the Athletics can no longer treat him like just another option in the infield mix. He posted career-best offensive numbers with a .261 batting average and an .806 OPS, while adding 14 doubles, nine home runs and 32 RBIs, production that gave Oakland a more credible look from the bottom half of the lineup than it had gotten before.
The strongest stretch came in September, when Walton finished with five homers and 12 RBIs and tied for second on the club in both categories. With Jeff McNeil expected to be elsewhere and the second-base job suddenly open for interpretation, Walton has put himself squarely in the conversation - even if he is still fighting off other challengers for a spot that could shape the Athletics infield next season. [Read more 🡒]