The Athletics’ biggest problem isn’t a lack of talent. It’s getting that talent to show up the right way.
That’s the heart of the argument as the club stares at a rough 2026 and a roster hit hard by the injured list. The core that’s been talked up for so long is real, but real talent and real production are not the same thing. The A’s still have a position-player group that can play like a force - if it gets coached, shaped, and harnessed correctly.
Start with the infield picture for 2027. Zack Gelof, Jacob Wilson, Joshua Kuroda-Grauer, and Nick Kurtz form the backbone, with Leo De Vries hopefully healthy and moving quickly toward the majors, and Shea Langeliers behind the plate.
Gelof has already shown he can be a dynamic piece, bringing speed, power, and dependable defense at three spots: 3B, 2B, and CF. Wilson and Kuroda-Grauer bring elite contact ability, which gives each a real shot at a high batting average, and both are strong defenders. Kurtz is simply Kurtz: one of the league’s most feared hitters and already a recognized star at 23.
There are fixes that have to happen. Wilson needs better swing decisions.
Langeliers has to sharpen his blocking and pitch calling. Kurtz has to make enough contact so the strikeouts don’t keep climbing.
Even so, once De Vries is part of the mix, that group carries “division winning” talent - and not just the kind that sneaks into first place with 81 wins.
The outfield has its own supply of upside. Tyler Soderstrom, Henry Bolte, and Lawrence Butler have all shown, at different times, how much they can swing a game. Denzel Clarke is a rare kind of fourth outfielder to have, especially if you aren’t depending on his bat or health to survive 150 games.
Bolte is still very much a work in progress. Butler’s career has taken the “Gelof arc.”
Soderstrom’s defense fell apart this season, possibly because of lingering hip discomfort. But all three still carry real star upside, and Clarke brings platinum glove level defense even if his main job ends up being pinch runner, defensive replacement, or a weak-side platoon piece.
Devin Taylor also isn’t far off from leaving the minors.
The biggest issue with this group isn’t talent, upside, or even what the long-term path looks like. It’s that A’s players have a habit of stalling out by leaning on the same weaknesses that hurt them in the first place, then sliding backward right when they should be entering their prime.
If that doesn’t change, the A’s could keep landing around league average even when healthy, just like they did this season, while giving away outs and bases on defense despite all that athleticism.
But there’s another path. Keep this core healthy, coach it properly, and demand more discipline, and the A’s may not need outside help at all to build an excellent lineup on both sides of the ball.
The talent is there. Now it has to become production.
In Other News...
As Turned A Winnable Game Into Another Brutal Bullpen Collapse
Jeffrey Springs gave the Athletics what they needed for most of the night, working 5 2/3 innings and limiting the Royals to two runs while Oakland held an early lead in the second-to-last game of the series. For a stretch, it looked like a winnable one for a club trying to piece together enough pitching support behind a starter who had done his job.
Then the game slipped away in the later innings, with Kansas City mounting the kind of late push that has become all too familiar for Oakland this season. The bullpen could not hold the line, and what had been a manageable night turned into another painful finish, leaving the As to sort through how a lead and a solid start still ended in a loss. [Read more 🡒]
Shea Langeliers Has A Hobby As Fans Will Love
Shea Langeliers has found another way to keep himself busy away from the field, and it is the sort of hobby plenty of Athletics fans can appreciate. The All-Star catcher has built a serious collection of Marvel and sports trading cards, to the point where the cards now fill two suitcases, and he has even pulled teammates like Nick Kurtz into the mix.
Langeliers card habit has also become a conversation starter beyond the clubhouse, creating connections with players on other teams along the way. For now, the collection stays packed away, but he already has a plan for it down the road, with hopes of putting everything on display in a dedicated space at his future home. [Read more 🡒]
Athletics Left Fans With One Big Deadline Frustration
The trade deadline came and went without the Athletics landing the kind of pitching help many around the club had been hoping for, leaving a familiar source of frustration in its wake. Oakland did make one move, sending Colby Thomas to get Seth Johnson back, but otherwise stayed quiet as the market unfolded, even with the rotation and bullpen still looking like areas that could have used more support.
Jonah Heim had been part of the deadline conversation before news broke that his season was over, and his absence only sharpened the focus on how the A's might use their roster depth moving forward. The club still has infielders who could draw interest, and that remains the clearest path if Oakland decides it wants to turn some of that surplus into the pitching help it passed on this time. [Read more 🡒]