PEORIA, Ariz. -- During his daily pregame chat with media on Monday morning, Athletics manager Mark Kotsay paused mid-session when he spotted Leo De Vries as he was walking out to the field at Hohokam Stadium to warm up and yelled out to the 19-year-old shortstop in Spanish.
“Leo! Listo para hoy?” said Kotsay, which translates to “Leo! Ready for today?”
De Vries looked over with a huge smile on his face and responded, “Siempre, lo mío,” which means, “Always, my friend.”
For De Vries, Monday’s 7-2 A’s victory over the Padres at Peoria Stadium meant a lot more than the average Cactus League game. It was a showdown against the organization that signed him out of the Dominican Republic -- the team he admired from afar as he grew up watching stars Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado, dreaming of one day getting a chance to play alongside them.
De Vries was close to realizing that dream. Then, in a blockbuster deal at the 2025 Trade Deadline, he was sent to the A’s as the headliner of a prospect package in exchange for Mason Miller and JP Sears.
“I knew he would be fired up to be back over there and see his old teammates and see the team that obviously thought a lot of him to sign him as a 16-year-old Dominican kid,” Kotsay said before the game. “It’s going to be fun to watch him play against them.”
Now ranked as the A’s No. 1 prospect and MLB’s No. 4 overall prospect by MLB Pipeline, an extra-motivated De Vries showed off some of those tantalizing skills by notching a pair of singles and looking smooth on defense over six innings.
“A lot of emotions,” De Vries told MLB.com in Spanish. “To share the field with my ex-team and a lot of my former teammates was special.
“Honestly, I couldn’t really grasp the magnitude of it when I first stepped on the field, but once the game started, I started to grasp it more and was talking with a lot of them over there. It was really beautiful. The San Diego fans watching today left with a lot to say.”
Making his way back to the A’s clubhouse situated beyond right field, De Vries stopped by the Padres clubhouse along the way, exchanging handshakes and hugs with many former teammates and coaches.
“All those guys were like brothers over there,” De Vries said. “The relationship we have is really beautiful.”
After acclimating himself to his new organization over the second half of ’25 at High-A Lansing and then Double-A Midland to end the season, De Vries is going through his first Spring Training with the A’s.
“This is my family,” De Vries said. “I’ve adapted quickly. The guys in here are good people, and it’s fun to be in this clubhouse.”
Monday was De Vries’ second time appearing in the A’s starting lineup this spring, and he’s expected to get more playing time with regulars such as Brent Rooker, Nick Kurtz and Tyler Soderstrom going forward while infielder Darell Hernaiz is away from camp to play for Team Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic.
“I feel very proud about the work I’ve done to be in the starting lineup with so many young superstars,” De Vries said. “It’s something special here. It’s a pleasure.”
De Vries will begin the regular season in the Minors, likely back at Double-A Midland, but the anticipation for his potential call to the Majors is already building. Even though he won’t turn 20 until October, De Vries – who many scouts project as a potential superstar in the making – is considered advanced in all aspects of his game. The A’s are not ruling out a big league debut for him at some point in 2026 if he continues to perform as he has throughout his quick rise through the Minors.
When that time comes for De Vries is out of his control. But from his view, he believes he is ready for The Show.
“I’m prepared for [the big leagues],” De Vries said. “Now, those are decisions that the front office will make. I’m prepared to play whatever level of baseball.”