What does a young A's core have in store for 2026?

This story was excerpted from Martín Gallegos’ Athletics Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

MESA, Ariz. — From the day the Athletics arrived in Arizona last month for Spring Training, there was a confidence amongst this group that had been missing in recent springs. A belief that this is the year they finally turn the page from what has been a rebuilding period to actually competing for a playoff spot.

Now comes the time to prove it. Coming off a year in which they won 76 games, it was their 35-29 (.547) record after the All-Star break, which ranked in the top 10 in the Majors, that generated a momentum that the A’s hope to carry into the 2026 season, which begins Friday night in Toronto against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.

Leading that charge is a high-powered offense headlined by reigning American League Rookie of the Year Nick Kurtz, sluggers Shea Langeliers, Brent Rooker and Tyler Soderstrom, an elite contact hitter in AL Rookie of the Year runner-up Jacob Wilson and Lawrence Butler, who is intent on having a bounce-back year after dealing with a knee injury throughout an up-and-down ‘25.

"The group is excited about what they feel they can accomplish," A's manager Mark Kotsay said. "There's a lot of excitement, not just on our end as a staff, but from a player perspective as well. They know what we're capable of doing. ... Overall, they're prepared for a season and ready to get it going on Friday."

What needs to go right?

The A’s lineup is expected to slug with the best of them. But to achieve their goal of making the playoffs in 2026, they will need more from their starting rotation, which combined for a 4.85 ERA last season that ranked fourth-highest in the Majors. Whether it’s a bounce-back year from Luis Severino, a young electric arm like Luis Morales elevating his game, or an elite prospect like Gage Jump (MLB No. 57) coming up and dominating, better production from the starters will be key.

Great unknown: The bullpen

The A’s plan to go with a closer by committee, and while that approach worked out quite successfully over the final two months of the season as the relief corps performed as one of the better groups in MLB over that stretch, it remains to be seen whether the strategy will be as effective over a full season. Ideally, the A’s could have one of their high-leverage options, such as Elvis Alvarado or Scott Barlow, seize the closer role at some point and run with it, allowing Kotsay to form some type of late-inning structure. But to begin the year, the A’s will have to mix and match relievers as best they can.

Team MVP will be: Kurtz

What does Kurtz have in store for an encore? Expectations are certainly high after one of the most impressive rookie campaigns in quite some time, which saw Kurtz unanimously earn the AL Rookie of the Year Award after slugging 36 home runs and joining Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge as one of only three players with at least 400 plate appearances and an OPS over 1.000. The dreaded sophomore slump is always lurking for any young player entering their second year, but Kurtz has already shown himself capable of making quick adjustments at the plate when pitchers start attacking him differently. Playing his home games at hitter-friendly Sutter Health Park should also help keep his offense up.

Team Cy Young will be: Jacob Lopez

Lopez was on track to becoming arguably the top rookie pitcher of the 2025 season before an elbow injury in August cut his season short. After a couple of rough starts in the end of May and beginning of June, the left-hander was 7-2 with a 2.17 ERA and 85 strikeouts over 70 2/3 innings in 13 starts before getting injured in his start against the Mariners on Aug. 24. Fully healthy again this spring, Lopez showed flashes of the pitcher the A’s saw last year before the injury, including an outing against the Royals in which he tossed four hitless innings with seven strikeouts.

Bold prediction: Kurtz wins the AL MVP Award

It won’t be easy in a league that features Aaron Judge, Cal Raleigh and José Ramírez, but Kurtz just had a historically dominant AL Rookie of the Year campaign, and he did it while reaching the big leagues just 283 days after he was drafted. He even received several down-ballot MVP votes, including a fourth- and fifth-place vote. With the ability to make any park look small, Kurtz is looking the part of a generational hitter, and a monster sophomore campaign would put him square in the mix for the first MVP Award by an A’s player since Miguel Tejada in 2002.