Something I’ve seen several times here is the notion that the A’s will have trouble luring a quality GM to be the next front office leader of the club. After all several openings will exist (we know for sure Houston is looking) and why would a GM choose the A’s, a nomadic team closing in on 100 losses if they’re not careful?
Glad you asked. To A’s fans things might look bleak at the moment, as the team limps to the finish line in a season that has been epically disappointing. But to a GM coming on board, there is much to recommend the job:
1. A new stadium is imminent and that is always a terrific position for a franchise to be in. With the opening of a new stadium — and in this case also a new city location — comes excitement and the promise of a new revenue stream.
Now you and I may be as skeptical as we want as to how much Las Vegas will embrace the A’s, how many of the fans will be die-hard A’s fans and not tourists pulling hard for the opponent, whether all the games will be sold out or whether a small stadium will still struggle to fill every seat.
Nonetheless it’s pretty much a given that attendance will be strong in the maiden years and that overall it will dwarf the numbers from Oakland and Sacramento, if only because those numbers were so small.
2. The core of young talent, for all its flaws and question marks, is in fact highly appealing. Nick Kurtz is already considered to be a star, Jacob Wilson has started an All-Star game, Shea Langeliers (3.6 fWAR in 2025) is considered one of the league’s best catchers, and there’s no denying the upside Lawrence Butler and Zack Gelof bring as they have displayed it in half season bursts. Henry Bolte has star potential as well and Brent Rooker is among those under contract for several more seasons.
It’s also enviable to have Leo De Vries poised to debut sometime in 2027, getting his feet wet and hitting the ground running by the start of 2028. The pitching needs some attention, but Gage Jump, JT Ginn, and Jacob Lopez will soon be joined by Jamie Arnold and presumably Wei-En Lin will be back healthy by the time the A’s christen their new stadium.
Of course there are no guarantees, but a lot of current GMs would like to have this talent to build around. There may need to be some changes in coaching and development staff to properly harness it, but a new GM has exactly that opportunity to make a footprint that can bring out the considerable upside seen in this young core.
3. The whole “Fisher won’t spend” narrative is as tired as it is inaccurate. Fisher may pinch pennies when it comes to feeding minor leaguers during a pandemic, but he’s also apparently putting out well over $1B to finish the stadium.
More to the point, regardless of why it is a fact that he is allowing for record contracts such as Luis Severino’s $67M deal, numerous extensions in the tens of millions each, and increasing payroll overall. And this only figures to ramp up further as the A’s try to create excitement in 2028.
Are there better gigs around MLB for a GM? Probably. Are there worse? Most certainly. On the continuum of “unappealing” to “appealing” I would submit that currently the A’s rank right of the middle. A healthy 2027 A’s team with added financial commitment both to the active roster and to the development side, could be exciting in its own right.
But with an eye to 2028 and beyond, a GM should be able to see tremendous potential to nurture a once proud franchise that intends to be proud again. Very soon. Under the right leadership.
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