The A's Own October: 64-98, an Empty GM Chair, and a Roster Full of What-Ifs

While the Guardians and White Sox open the ALDS and the Dodgers, Braves, Rays, Yankees, Brewers and Padres sort out the rest of the bracket, the Oakland Athletics are doing the thing they've done for five straight autumns: watching. This year, though, the watching comes with a hiring decision attached, and that's the most consequential Athletics story of the week.

General manager David Forst and the club mutually parted ways back in August, ending a three-decade run in the organization and eleven years in the big chair. Assistant GM Dan Feinstein has held the interim tag since, and as of this week the search is still open — enough that Yahoo Sports ran a piece headlined "Elephant Rumblings: AFL Begins; Still Waiting For A GM."

Where the search stands

The list has taken shape and then reshaped itself. Boston assistant general managers Mike Groopman and Taylor Smith have conducted preliminary interviews, per Over-Slot Baseball's Joe Doyle and MassLive's Sean McAdam, with first-stage talks happening over video call. A World Series-winning executive who built the Washington Nationals' championship operation has also interviewed, per Yahoo Sports. Former Rangers and Rays exec Jon Daniels, meanwhile, removed himself from consideration, telling USA Today's Bob Nightengale he prefers to stay in Tampa Bay and spend time with family. James Click has been reported by MLB Trade Rumors as a serious candidate. Yahoo Sports has separately identified three candidates in the mix.

That's a wide board in October, and the calendar matters: MLB Trade Rumors' arbitration projections are out, the CBA expires December 2 with a presumed lockout, and the club's own offseason dates are already circulating. A new GM walking in after a lockout starts behind on every roster decision.

What the new hire actually inherits

A team that finished 64-98 with a -238 run differential — 699 runs scored, 937 allowed. The pitching was the problem: a 5.57 staff ERA, 1.52 WHIP, 222 home runs allowed, and 4.24 walks per nine. Over the final ten games the ERA sat at 7.55. The bullpen was oddly respectable by comparison at 4.37.

The lineup was merely below-average rather than catastrophic: .250/.321/.407 with 184 homers. Shea Langeliers (.262, 23 HR, .802 OPS) returned from the injured list late. Zack Gelof (.256, 22 HR, .797 OPS, 16 steals) and Tyler Soderstrom (.245, 19 HR, .810 OPS) both showed something. Lawrence Butler played 154 games and posted a .720 OPS.

The catch is who wasn't available. The 60-day injured list has been a parking lot: Brent Rooker, Nick Kurtz, Jacob Wilson, Tyler Soderstrom, Luis Severino, J.T. Ginn, Gunnar Hoglund, Mark Leiter Jr., Justin Sterner and Brooks Kriske all sat on it. Kurtz, in just 99 games, hit .256 with a .396 on-base percentage, 21 homers and an .879 OPS. That's the shape of the 2027 argument — the core is real, it just never got on the field together.

Why this week matters more than the record

The A's are last in the sport's power rankings at 30th, and the roster is playing home games at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento — roughly 10,000 seats — before a planned Las Vegas move in 2028. The GM hire is the first domino for everything that follows: whether the arbitration-eligible group gets tendered, how aggressively the front office shops this winter, and whether the "fast movers" the organization keeps citing arrive in time to make 2027 interesting.

Whoever takes the job is inheriting a bad team with a legitimate young position-player core, a rotation that needs rebuilding from the studs, and a fanbase that has heard "wait until next year" for half a decade. The A's spent this October waiting on a GM. That wait is the story — and its length is the risk.