LAS VEGAS -- The hiring of Taylor Smith as president of baseball operations signals a new chapter for the Athletics.
Following his introductory press conference at the A’s Experience Center in Las Vegas last week, Smith sat down with MLB.com to discuss his new role as the youngest head of baseball operations in MLB.
MLB.com: As far as front-office structure, how do you envision lining that up from potentially adding a general manager on down?
Smith: I would say that, right now, we’re still very much at the point in time of getting an understanding of where we are at currently. Understanding what our current strengths are and where there are opportunities to improve as far as additions in general and just bringing on people that complement both my skill set and the skill sets that we already have in the organization.
MLB.com: I know you have a background in analytics. How do you view the value of analytics in combination with scouting and coaching?
Smith: I think analytics and scouting go together really, really well. My first role in baseball was as an analyst for the amateur model. It’s really about combining all of the pieces of information that you have, the objective information and your scouting information. Leveraging the two of those things together to arrive at a process that is taking the complementary strengths of both of those sources of information.
MLB.com: What are your thoughts on the A’s farm system and how some of those prospects could factor into the 2027 season?
Smith: [No. 1 prospect Leo] De Vries is obviously very, very exciting as a crown jewel of the system. [No. 3 prospect Jamie] Arnold is getting very, very close. I would say, the most evergreen thing you can be doing is adding more talent to your farm system. It’s something where you find ways to be opportunistic and add little pieces of value here and there. Every deal that you make, every Draft and international signing, really investing and trying to make sure that pipeline of talent is as strong as possible.
MLB.com: With the ballpark here in Vegas set to open after next season, do you view that as a potential selling point for free agents?
Smith: Yeah. I think it’s going to be an awesome setup that we have here. It’s something where a bunch of players can probably live here year-round. I think it’ll be a pretty compelling selling point.
MLB.com: From your perspective, what’s the importance of having a good relationship with the manager and coaching staff and what do you hope that relationship looks like for you and Mark Kotsay?
Smith: I don’t think it’s possible to overstate the importance of the relationship between the front office and the manager. 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.