A's Hand Taylor Smith a 64-98 Rebuild — and a Roster That Might Not Survive the Winter

The most consequential Athletics news of the past week wasn't a game result. It was a press conference.

Oakland finalized the hiring of Taylor Smith as president of baseball operations, ending a search that began when the club parted with longtime general manager David Forst on Aug. 7. Smith arrives from Boston, where he served as an assistant general manager, and he carries a reputation built around analytics and player development — the exact areas where, as Athletics Nation put it, the organization has "fallen woefully behind the curve."

The path to Smith was not a straight line. The A's first targeted Phillies executive Sam Fuld, who declined the offer and stayed in Philadelphia. Smith, viewed as the top remaining candidate, got the job. Then came the twist: at Smith's introductory press conference, owner John Fisher floated the idea of also hiring a general manager to serve as the No. 2 executive beneath Smith — an increasingly common structure around the league and one that suggests the A's aren't done reshaping the front office.

What Smith Inherits

The on-field product is a genuine mess. Oakland finished 64-98, a .395 winning percentage that left them fourth in the AL West, two games ahead of the last-place Angels in both wins and losses. The run differential was -238: 699 runs scored against 937 allowed. MLB Trade Rumors' offseason outlook framed it plainly — the A's fell from 76 wins in 2025 to 64 this year, undone by a swath of injuries and persistently poor pitching.

The pitching numbers are the starkest part of the file. A 5.51 team ERA and 1.52 WHIP, with 231 home runs allowed and 4.26 walks per nine. The bullpen was better but not good: 4.37 ERA, 10 blown saves, 17 saves total. That is not a staff you patch with one signing.

The lineup had its own attrition problem. Oakland used 25 different batters, and the season was a rotating door of injured-list moves — Tyler Soderstrom (left hip impingement), Jacob Wilson (thumb inflammation, after earlier shoulder trouble), Nick Kurtz (strained right thumb), Jeffrey Springs (hip), Zack Gelof. Shea Langeliers did make it back from the IL, and his .262/.328/.474 line with 23 homers in 106 games stands as one of the few stable offensive anchors.

The Roster Decisions That Follow

Which is precisely why this front office story matters more than the final standings. MLB Trade Rumors already lists Langeliers as an offseason trade candidate, noting that beyond the front office uncertainty, the expectation is that the A's will continue moving players. That is the real test of the Smith era's first months: does a new analytics-forward lead executive keep a catcher with an .802 OPS, or flip him for the kind of volume return a rebuild demands?

There's a clock on all of it. The A's are entering their final year in West Sacramento before the planned 2028 move to Las Vegas, and the sport's CBA expires Dec. 1 with a potential lockout looming — a combination that could compress an already busy winter into a few frantic weeks.

The Case for Optimism, Modestly

Buried in an ugly season: Nick Kurtz posted a .396 on-base percentage and 21 homers in 99 games as a rookie, and the club's power rating ticked up by nearly half a run per game in the final week despite the last-place ranking. The A's also swung a small trade with Boston for Nate Eaton shortly after Smith's hire — a footnote, but a reminder that the new boss knows that roster intimately.

Smith's résumé says he can build infrastructure. The 64-98 record says he'll need to. And with a GM possibly still to be hired beneath him, the A's organizational chart may be the most interesting thing about them until spring.