Happy Monday A’s fan and welcome to a new week!
The club made a major change on Friday when General Manager David Forst was let go after spending the past 25+ years with the organization. During that time he rose from scout to assistant GM to GM under Billy Beane and has guided the club’s decisions and direction over nearly a decade. There were lots of highs in his time running the ship, but also plenty of lows and it felt that the time was right, for both parties, for a divorce to happen.
The club will have a new general manager for the first time since 2015 and presumably that new GM will be given full control over team operations. That means the next person coming in will be able to shape the roster in their own image. There’s holdovers such as the recently-extended guys and the up-and-coming rookies that potential GM’s will have to be comfortable with, but there’s going to be a new sheriff in the front office soon enough and major changes in roster construction may be coming this offseason.
That does not bode well for manager Mark Kotsay. Now in his fifth year leading the team Kotsay saw steady progression over the past few years but things have taken a dark turn for the worse this season. As things stand Fangraphs has the Athletics finishing with a 66-96 record. Not only would that be a major step back from last year but also worse than the 2024 club when they finished 69-93. Things were supposed to be going in the other direction and things seemed to be going that way, but once the calendar flipped to June this was a different club whose lack of pitching and depth showed up.
A lot of the struggles of the team have to do with injuries, underperformance, and just a lack of support from the front office over the offseason to reinforce weaker spots of the roster. Regardless, managers are expected to make their guys play up to or above expectations and that hasn’t happened for many players on the roster this year. Last year’s Rookie of the Year and runner up Nick Kurtz and Jacob Wilson have both taken steps back thanks to injuries and league adjustments. Former All-Star Brent Rooker was hitting .200 when his season ended due to knee surgery. Max Muncy hasn’t developed as hoped. Lawrence Butler and Tyler Soderstrom have taken steps back. And don’t even look at the state of the pitching staff.
The new general manager is almost assuredly going to look at the direction of the club and decide he or she wants a new voice in the clubhouse, one that they get to personally pick. Kotsay knows this and his time with the organization is likely coming to an end. Still, he’s been a leader for the club during these tough years when the front office didn’t provide him with much. That’s not his fault. Hopefully he’ll be able to land on his feet somewhere and maybe this is premature but enjoy him while he’s around.
And let’s never forget his epic inside-the-park-home-run in Game 2 against the Twins way back in ‘06:
Kotsay will always be loved among A’s fans. It’s just that a new voice seems to be needed. Will the club wait around to make that change, or let Kotsay ride out the year before moving on?
We got a series against the Rays starting tonight. First pitch is at 6:40. Have a great start to your week everyone!
Jacob Wilson with some major history yesterday!
Three hits. Three home runs for the most recent A’s first round draft pick:
Newest bullpen acquisition: