A's bring in Taylor Smith to run baseball operations

The Athletics have found a new leader to run their front office.

The club announced on Monday that Taylor Smith has been hired as president of baseball operations. Formerly a senior vice president/assistant general manager with the Red Sox over the past two seasons, Smith will take charge of the A’s baseball strategy and operations in preparation for the team’s relocation to Las Vegas in 2028.

“I couldn't be more excited about Taylor as our president of baseball operations,” A’s owner John Fisher said in a statement. “He is one of the brightest minds in the game today. We conducted a very thorough search for our new baseball leadership, and Taylor stood out for his acute understanding of the game, especially in the areas of measuring player performance and player development.

“We have a strong core of returning players, including Nick Kurtz, Brent Rooker, Shea Langeliers, Lawrence Butler, Tyler Soderstrom, Jacob Wilson and Henry Bolte, as well as a lot of great talent in our farm system. With Taylor's leadership and the talent already in our organization, we believe we have all the pieces in place to build a consistently competitive and winning team.”

Smith, 31, previously worked for the Rays as part of their research and development team for seven seasons prior to joining the Red Sox in 2024. With Boston, he oversaw the organization’s baseball research and development efforts, including analytics, sciences, systems and technology, while also leading the department’s collaboration with player acquisitions, development and baseball operations groups.

A native of Woodstock, Ga., Smith graduated from the University of Georgia with joint bachelor’s and master’s degrees in statistics along with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics.

“The Athletics changed the way baseball thinks about building a team, and their pioneering work during the Moneyball era opened the door to my own career in the game,” Smith said. “It's an honor to build on that legacy as we work to create the next great A's team, build on our foundation for sustained success and prepare for our new home in Las Vegas.”

“It's exciting to welcome Taylor to the Athletics as the new president of baseball operations,” said A’s senior advisor Billy Beane. “He is a smart, creative baseball mind with the leadership skills to build a cutting-edge, winning organization that our fans can be proud of for years to come. I couldn't be more excited about the A's future.”

The A’s parted ways with former general manager David Forst on Aug. 7, ending what was an 11-year tenure, and named assistant general manager Dan Feinstein as interim GM at the time.

It’s unclear at this point if the A’s also plan to hire a GM to work under Smith, and it remains to be seen if Feinstein or fellow longtime A’s assistant GMs Billy Owens -- who interviewed for this position -- and Rob Naberhaus will remain with the team in those roles or perhaps another front office title.

The A’s finished 2026 with a record of 64-98 -- 12 fewer wins than the previous year -- for their fifth consecutive losing season.