The A’s have spent 4 years rebuilding with a losing record that has improved each of the last 2 years and ended with a promising post All-Star break run of sustained success. Now, starting this weekend, come the Winter Meetings when the hot stove tends to heat up and players are on the move via free agency and trade.

No doubt the A’s intend to push for a playoff spot in 2026, be it trying to sneak in to a wild card spot that now offers 3 chances or challenging the Mariners et al for the AL West crown.

Every possible direction the A’s can go comes with barriers and caveats, though, as they try to build a winning team on a small market budget with the backdrop of an even smaller stadium.

For the A’s to attract free agents they will either need to overpay, as they did with Luis Severino, or take big risks on players trying to bounce back from injury or poor performance. The reality is that if the A’s try to improve their pitching through free agency they will likely have to pay far, far too much given that even teams on a level playing field tend to offer a fair bounty to lure worthy talent.

If the A’s have to top that it starts looking like $67M for a mid-rotation SP, i.e., too much money for too little “frontiness” in the rotation. Pitching, in particular, will be hard to sell to free agents given that Sutter Health Park played like a launching pad in 2025.

Forst’s best bet might be to use additional years, rather than dollars, to distinguish the A’s from other suitors. Perhaps offering Chris Bassitt a 3-year deal or Tyler Rogers a 4-year deal gets you into a serious conversation — and potentially a bad contract, but also maybe a steal.

Trades, which tend to snowball with the start, and then continuation, of GM Winter Meeting talks, can be broken down into 3 categories: dealing established talent to secure a good return, dealing desired prospects to secure a good return, or making smaller deals less likely to move the needle.

Dealing Established Talent

The A’s have indicated that their core of hitters are not for sale. That would be Brent Rooker, Nick Kurtz, Jacob Wilson, Shea Langeliers, Tyler Soderstrom, and Lawrence Butler. Trouble is, these are precisely the players teams like Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Cincinnati , Miami et al covet in exchange for their FOTR pitching.

Because the A’s have indicated these players are off limits, Forst has suggested the A’s will try to go the free agent route to improve their pitching — which has all the problems already outlined.

The A’s might be trying to shift from “rebuild” to “contend” but they are far from a “win now, aim for a World Series berth” club ready to mortgage its future for the now. For this reason one would hope that the “top 3” of Leo DeVries, Gage Jump, and Jamie Arnold are off the table in trade talks, which limits the quality of return you can hope to get back.

Who is left that has some prospect capital? Braden Nett and Henry Bolte rank #4 and #5 on MLB Pipeline, Colby Thomas has the “MLB ready” shine, and Tommy White still ranks fairly high. Rebuilding teams might also have interest in Steven Echavarria and Devin Taylor.

These prospects have some desirability, but it’s going to be a lot harder to add top quality while excluding the big 3. “We’d like your #2 SP and while we can’t give you Leo DeVries you can have Colby Thomas…and instead of Gage Jump can we interest you in Mason Barnett?”

Certainly there will be no shortage of Aledmys Diazes and Luis Uriases to sign — heck Urias’ brother is even available — or Jace Peterson’s to acquire. And those deals don’t get the A’s where they need to go. At some point the A’s need to make at least one bold move either in free agency or trade if they want to enter 2026 as contenders for anything.

One answer, which won’t satisfy A’s fans much, is to ‘stay the course’ and not attempt to build a clear winner in 2026. Wait for DeVries to bolster the infield, wait for Jump and Arnold to fortify the rotation, take a year to really see what you have in Max Muncy, Zack Gelof, Denzel Clarke. Hoard the talent you have.

Or………..how would you like to see Forst and Co. approach the Winter Meetings trying to improve a team that won at a playoff clip the last 2 months of 2025 and has some momentum going into 2026? There is always a way, but when you’re the A’s the path to success is just a bit skinnier and more slippery than most.