LAS VEGAS -- The 2025 General Managers Meetings carry a bit more significance for the Athletics.
Whereas 29 other Major League front offices are stopping in for a few days before heading back to their respective cities, the A’s are conducting business in their future home base. The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas -- the site of this year’s GM Meetings -- sits only about one mile north of the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue, where construction is underway on the A’s new ballpark scheduled to be completed by 2028 Opening Day.
Taking advantage of the close proximity, A’s general manager David Forst took a trip down the Las Vegas strip to tour the stadium site on Tuesday afternoon. Joined by assistant GMs Dan Feinstein and Billy Owens, as well as a few MLB officials, Forst checked out the progress that has been made since his previous visit during the summer. The construction site now features several support columns in place that are starting to form the base of the lower concourse.
The project included markers indicating where various amenities such as the A’s clubhouse, bullpen and home plate will be situated, with renderings to paint more of a visual picture.
“It was fun,” Forst said of the tour. “It was great to see the progress that’s being made. They’re moving quickly. … It was nice to be there and have that sort of element of that being our future home.”
The A’s will continue playing at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento for the next two seasons. But with Las Vegas on the horizon, the prospect of eventually playing in a brand-new ballpark in Southern Nevada is a selling point that might come more into focus with potential free agents this winter.
“Talking to free agents a year ago, we knew we were [playing] three years in Sacramento,” Forst said. “We did the deal with [Luis Severino] that potentially was a three-year deal. Bringing [Jeffrey] Springs in, you had two years plus an option of control. Now that we’re a year closer, I think there’s a very realistic chance we’re talking to free agents or even talking extensions with our own players, like we did with [Lawrence Butler] and [Brent] Rooker, that are very much going to Vegas and sort of focused on the years there.”
Before the time for relocation comes, the A’s are searching for a way to build upon a 2025 season that saw them take an encouraging step forward. Though it wasn’t the playoff-contending year they set out for last Spring Training, they did improve upon their ‘24 win total by seven games with a 76-86 record and finished strong by going 34-24 to close out the season.
How do the A’s become contenders? We know they can hit. An offense led by the core of unanimous AL Rookie of the Year Award-winner Nick Kurtz and runner-up Jacob Wilson, Shea Langeliers, Rooker, Tyler Soderstrom and Butler formed what was a top-10 offensive unit across MLB in most categories. Those players remain under contract for the foreseeable future, and it’s not a stretch to envision A’s No. 1 prospect/MLB No. 3 overall prospect Leo De Vries joining that group in the big leagues as early as the second half of next year.
There are openings at second base and third base, but those could be filled by internal options such as Darell Hernaiz, Max Muncy, Zack Gelof and Brett Harris.
Where the A’s need to improve is on the pitching side. As the roster currently stands, Severino and Springs are the only two established starters in the rotation. Following them are some exciting but inexperienced young arms such as Luis Morales, Jacob Lopez and Jack Perkins. MLB Top 100 prospects Gage Jump (No. 60) and Jamie Arnold (No. 38) could also factor in soon.
“We do talk about whether bringing in some experience, another veteran with some consistency, makes sense,” Forst said. “It’s obviously what everybody is looking for. It’s not easy to find, and our park is not the easiest to pitch in for the next couple of years. I’m aware of that. But it’s definitely on our list.”
Bullpen help is also on the offseason wish list, as the A’s remain without a set closer after trading Mason Miller to the Padres for a package headlined by De Vries at the Trade Deadline.
"It would be nice,” Forst said of adding a reliever with closing experience. “It’s easier said than done. … We traded arguably the best closer in the game and our bullpen performed better over the last two months. I think that leaves [the coaching staff], hopefully, with a lot of confidence that they have some of the right people in place. But we’re always looking to augment the bullpen and give us more options.”