WEST SACRAMENTO -- This is not the way the Athletics envisioned their 2026 season playing out.
A year that began with visions of contending for the playoffs built by a core of promising young players ended much like the previous four seasons played out. Capped by a 9-0 loss to the division rival Astros -- who clinched the AL West on the final day of the regular season – Sunday afternoon at Sutter Health Park, the A’s finished fourth in the division with a final record of 64-98.
“Just a tough season,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “There’s no way around that. As a group, we obviously feel very disappointed in the results. … The greatest lessons are learned in failures, and this season was one of those that I think we have a lot to learn from.
“It’s never easy when you have those expectations out of Spring Training with a group that you feel like will continue to improve and get better.”
The final tally will show the A’s won 12 fewer games than in 2025, an obvious step back. This season, however, will ultimately be viewed as one defined by injuries.
The harsh injury bug began with two-time All-Star Brent Rooker, the team’s unofficial captain and leader in the clubhouse. The slugger was placed on the injured list on June 9 with a left bone bruise that later led to season-ending knee surgery.
From there, practically every key player of the A’s young core -- Nick Kurtz, Jacob Wilson, Shea Langeliers and Tyler Soderstrom -- went on to miss significant time due to injuries. Of those four, three finished with season-ending injuries, while Langeliers returned on Sept. 12 for 13 games in strictly a DH role.
Between Kurtz, Wilson, Langeliers, Soderstrom and Rooker, those five players combined to miss 340 games on the IL. Then you throw in Opening Day starter Luis Severino, who landed on the IL with a right shoulder strain on May 30 and never returned.
“I think we showed early on in the year our potential a little bit,” Langeliers said. “I don’t want to just sit here and blame the whole season on injuries. We didn’t finish where we wanted to be, but there were a lot of positives that came out of this year. … Obviously, not where we wanted to finish.”
The A’s had a 38-38 record through June 19, well within contention for the AL West crown at that time. After June 19, the A’s finished 26-60 over their final 86 games. Yes, the A’s were missing several key players during that final stretch, but there was also an inefficiency on the pitching end that they will have to correct for 2027.
For the season, A’s pitchers set a franchise record with 1,356 strikeouts. They also allowed the most home runs (247) in franchise history. Compounding that long ball issue were the whopping 637 walks they allowed. Those numbers make it clear that there is a need this offseason to improve on the pitching end, something that will be decided by a new general manager who is expected to be hired by the club at some point before the World Series.
“That should be priority number one this offseason,” Kotsay said. “Whoever is going to be running the organization, you can easily identify that one of our biggest areas of need is on the mound.
“That being said, are we excited about Gage Jump next year? Absolutely. Are we excited about what Jack Perkins has shown in spurts? Sure. But spurts are spurts. In order to win in this division and win a championship, you have to be consistent for six months. You can’t rely on glimpses. You have to rely on consistency. That’s something that we need as an organization. Focus on pitching development and pitching as a whole.”
The positives to end the season are what provide some hope for 2027. Through those injuries, the A’s saw Henry Bolte reach the big leagues earlier than expected and evolve from top prospect to one of the most exciting rookies in baseball with his combination of speed and power. There was Zack Gelof, who turned his career around after a couple of down years by mashing a career-high 22 homers. There was also Lawrence Butler, who overcame a rough first half by looking more like his dynamic self by season’s end.
“You mix those guys with the group that we should have healthy next year, I think we’re in a good spot,” Rooker said. “There’s reason to be excited about 2027.”