LAS VEGAS -- Taylor Smith has been a part of winning at every stop in his baseball journey, from his start as an intern with the Dodgers through more recent stints in higher roles with the Rays and Red Sox.
Now taking on his first opportunity to lead a front office as president of baseball operations for the Athletics, Smith hopes to implement what he’s learned from those previous experiences to help lift this franchise to similar heights.
“What I think most excites me about this opportunity is the chance to build a team that can go out and compete for championships year after year,” Smith said. “I just want to say to A’s fans, our goal is to go out and build a team that you are going to be proud of. … Right now, we have this really exciting young core, and I’m so excited to build on that.”
That was the messaging inside the A’s Experience Center in Las Vegas -- the club’s future home city -- as Smith was officially introduced on Wednesday. The hire ahead of their 2028 move to Southern Nevada signals a new chapter for the A’s, who parted ways with former general manager David Forst, a longtime staple of the organization, back in August.
“It gives me great pleasure to welcome Taylor Smith,” said A’s owner John Fisher. “Taylor is someone who stood out to us from the very beginning of our discussions. We had a very thorough search process. We talked to talented people from lots of different teams all across the country, and Taylor really stood out for his brilliance, his understanding of the game and his appreciation of what it takes to make a good player a great player. We think he is going to be able to do the kind of necessary things to make our good team into a great team.”
The A’s have a history of being at the forefront of baseball innovation, from the days Charlie Finley owned the team during the championship runs of the 1970s to the “Moneyball” revolution sparked by Billy Beane in the early 2000s.
With Smith, the A’s have set another precedent. At just 31 years old, Smith is now the youngest head of baseball operations of any team in MLB.
There is a seemingly inherent risk that comes with hiring someone so young, one that certainly crossed Fisher’s mind as he and team president Marc Badain mulled several candidates over an extensive two-month search. Ultimately, Smith’s youth was something that excited them as they look to get an A’s club that finished last season 64-98 and has not posted a winning record since 2021 back to regular playoff contention.
“One thing I would say is, the world is run by 31-year-olds today,” Fisher said. “You look at so many companies that are being created, and they’re all being created by kids. There’s something that is very empowering about someone coming in who is young and energized. … In some respects, the fact that he hasn’t done all of these things before, it gives us a lot of confidence that he’s going to be trying new things. Some of them won’t work, but a lot of them will. He’s going to learn and continue to get better.”
Assessment of the roster
An obvious draw for Smith was the core of talent already in place, specifically naming Nick Kurtz, Tyler Soderstrom and Shea Langeliers. But while pitching is an area of need for the A’s, Smith also pointed out a number of starting pitchers already on the roster whom he believes are primed to take a step forward next season. Among those mentioned was Luis Severino, who must decide on a $22 million player option for 2027 next month.
“The pitching is really exciting as well,” Smith said. “Jacob Lopez was awesome in the second half. [Jack] Perkins and [Gage] Jump seem like they’re on the precipice of getting to that next level. Severino [if he remains] provides that veteran leadership, and J.T. Ginn is coming off the best year of his career. I think there’s a lot to build on there.”
Connection with Kotsay
There was some speculation over the future of A’s manager Mark Kotsay given the new leadership. On Wednesday, Kotsay was present and sat in the front row for Smith’s press conference, signaling the start of what the A’s hope will be a strong relationship between coaching staff and front office.
“I don’t think it’s possible to overstate the importance of the relationship between the front office and the manager,” Smith said. “When you have that alignment and are on the same page, it makes everything easier. It makes roster construction easier. It makes in-game strategy easier. From my conversations with Mark so far, he seems like a great guy. He seems like someone who is hungry for all the information we can get him, and I think it’ll be a great partnership.”
Will a GM come next?
Fisher indicated that hiring a GM to pair with Smith is “a definite possibility” in the near future. It’s unclear what the front office structure will look like going forward, but Smith said it will be important for him to be surrounded by other experienced executives, whether that be those currently in-house or new hires.
“I like to think that I do a good job of knowing what I don’t know,” Smith said. “Or at the very least, knowing what I do not know, and then making sure that I surround myself with the people who can complement me in that regard.”