![\"Nick](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Nick-Kurtz-e1771436498841.jpg\")
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Nick Kurtz spent the offseason working on one major flaw. <\/p>\n
Teams have reported for spring training, and games are set to begin over the weekend. With that, the Athletics<\/a> are gearing up to, hopefully, turn some heads in 2026. The A\u2019s are looking to make some noise in the American League West division, but it is going to take a lot of improvement. Over the offseason, the Athletics\u2019 best hitter, Nick Kurtz<\/a>, did his part by working to improve one of the few flaws in his game.<\/p>\n Kurtz was the American League rookie of the year last season. He slugged 36 home runs, collected 86 RBI, batted .290, and finished with an OPS of 1.002. This phenomenal rookie season solidified him as one of the best first basemen in the game. However, Kurtz had one flaw that continued to be noticeable throughout the year.<\/p>\n That flaw is his fielding. But Kurtz is determined to get better with his glove heading into 2026.<\/p>\n \u201cIf there was one thing that isn\u2019t his strong suit, that was it. He kind of stabs at them. He needs to let it come to him. He has swag when he hits. He needs to have swag on popups,\u201d A\u2019s infield coach Bobby Crosby said, via Martin Gallegos of MLB.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Those popups in foul territory, or in short right field, can make or break a game if they drop, especially in the late innings. Kurtz taking the time to really work on that flaw of his is a very good sign for things to come.<\/p>\n Nick Kurtz Defensive Struggles in 2025<\/p>\n The Athletics were one of the worst fielding teams in the MLB<\/a> last season, and it was a major reason for their struggles. Among all teams, the A\u2019s ranked 22nd in fielding percentage and 22nd in OAA.<\/p>\n Kurtz did not help the case with his defensive numbers last year, either. The former first-round pick finished in the ninth percentile<\/a> in OAA. Kurtz also had a success rate added of -3%. That means he made 3% less of the plays he was expected to make.<\/p>\n The Wake Forest product is hoping to improve, though. He has worked this offseason to make himself a better fielder, especially on popups.<\/p>\n Kurtz was not the only player on the A\u2019s who struggled defensively, though.<\/p>\n Jacob Wilson earned a contract extension<\/a> during the offseason, but he finished with an OAA of -2. That put him in the 31st percentile in the MLB. Tyler Soderstrom, another player who earned an extension<\/a>, finished in the 50th percentile of OAA.<\/p>\n Outside of Denzel Clarke, the Athletics are not a good defensive team. Kurtz understood that, and he knows defense is what will propel the A\u2019s into playoff contention. But Kurtz and the rest of the team have to show significant improvement in the field.<\/p>\n Athletics 2026 Outlook<\/p>\n The Athletics play in a tough division. The Texas Rangers, Houston Astros, and Seattle Mariners<\/a> are all good teams. With three teams making the wild card, the A\u2019s could find a way to finesse one of those spots, but it is going to take a lot of work.<\/p>\n Full, healthy seasons out of Wilson, Soderstrom, Kurtz, Shea Langeliers,<\/a> and Denzel Clarke<\/a> will be key for the lineup in 2026.\u00a0On the mound, the Athletics have some potential, but it may not be enough. The A\u2019s are going to rely on run support, as the pitchers may not be as good as the other teams in the division.<\/p>\n With Kurtz playing a massive role, the Athletics have the ability to make some noise this year. But it will come down to their play on defense and how well the pitchers perform.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tCam Zunkel<\/a> Cam Zunkel has been a sports journalist since 2022. He covers the NBA and MLB for Heavy.com. Cam also covers multiple MLB teams for On SI – part of the Sports Illustrated Brand. He is a former collegiate baseball player with two stops in the independent Frontier League. More about Cam Zunkel<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Athletics\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Nick Kurtz spent the offseason working on one major flaw. Teams have reported for spring training, and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":579740,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2391],"tags":[537,5,4,3226],"class_list":{"0":"post-579739","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-athletics","8":"tag-athletics","9":"tag-baseball","10":"tag-mlb","11":"tag-mlb-athletics"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116093278737651756","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=579739"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579739\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/579740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=579739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=579739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=579739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}