A Slow Build With an Eye on 2026 and Beyond

     The 2026 Athletics are no longer just a pile of prospects fueled by wishful thinking. This roster has enough proven power, enough emerging talent, and enough movement under manager Mark Kotsay to make the season feel less like a rebuild and more like a proving ground. There is still instability here, no question, but it is the kind that creates intrigue rather than apathy.

Start with the lineup, because that is where the optimism lives. Brent Rooker remains the club’s most established middle-of-the-order threat after launching 30 home runs with 89 RBIs in 2025, and he carried that production straight into spring training, hitting .340 with five homers and 12 RBIs. Tyler Soderstrom has been just as loud, batting .348 with five homers and 15 RBIs in camp, building on a 2025 season where he not only showed offensive growth but also emerged as a Gold Glove finalist in left field. Shea Langeliers added his usual brand of power, leading the team in spring with seven home runs, reinforcing the idea that this lineup can do real damage when it clicks.

Then there is Nick Kurtz, who enters 2026 with expectations that go far beyond “promising.” His 2025 campaign was one of the most decorated rookie seasons in recent Athletics history, as he won the American League Rookie of the Year unanimously, earned All-MLB Second Team honors, and took home a Silver Slugger. Even if his spring numbers were quieter than some teammates, the standard has already been set. The Athletics are not wondering if Kurtz belongs, they are wondering how high his ceiling actually goes.

Jacob Wilson fits right alongside him. After hitting .311 in 2025 and earning an All-Star start at shortstop, he established himself as a core piece of Kotsay's strategy board. His spring performance has been more steady than spectacular, but that is almost the point. The Athletics are counting on him to be reliable, not streaky, and his development into a consistent top-of-the-order presence is one of the most important threads to keep and eye on as the season progresses.

Not everyone made the Opening Day picture, and that might be the most telling part of this roster. Zack Gelof, once viewed as a key young piece, was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas late in camp after appearing in only six spring games. The decision signals a shift in how this team is being built. Past flashes are not enough anymore. Production, fit, and readiness matter more than potential, and the Athletics are willing to make uncomfortable calls to reflect that.

Kotsay’s influence is all over this team. He has not locked himself into rigid roles, instead using spring training to experiment and evaluate. Third base remains unsettled, with multiple players cycling through the position as the organization searches for stability. That same flexibility shows up on the pitching staff, where the rotation is built more on opportunity than hierarchy. The projected group of Luis Severino, Jeffrey Springs, Luis Morales, Jacob Lopez, and Aaron Civale offers more structure than in recent years, but it still lacks a clear ace. Kotsay has approached it like an open competition, and the results will likely shift throughout the season.

Lawrence Butler represents one of the more pivotal wild cards. His 2025 season included a 20-homer, 20-steal performance, the first by an Athletic in over a decade, but it came with a significant caveat, he played through a partial patellar tendon tear before undergoing surgery in October. His spring was delayed because of that recovery, limiting his early action. If he returns to full strength and builds on his production, he adds a dynamic element to the lineup that few others on the roster can replicate. If not, the offense loses some of its balance and athleticism.

So what should be expected from this team? Realistically, the Athletics are not entering 2026 as contenders. The American League remains too competitive, and this roster is still too young and uneven to sustain a full-season push. But that does not make them irrelevant. Far from it. The offense has enough power to keep games interesting, and the roster has enough upside to produce stretches where the team looks far better than its overall record might suggest. They are in the perfect underdog position to surprise the league and bring post season abseball to the California Capital.

Regardless, the most significant purpose of 2026 is clarity. By the end of the season, the Athletics need to know which players are part of the foundation moving forward and which ones are not. Kurtz, Wilson, Soderstrom, and Rooker look like anchors, but even they have another level to reach. Others, like Butler and the unsettled infield pieces, still have to prove where they fit. On the pitching side, someone needs to emerge in a big way, not necessarily as a star, but as a stabilizing force the team can trust.

If several of those answers break in the right direction, the Athletics could become one of those teams that quietly disrupts expectations. Not a powerhouse, not yet, but competitive enough to frustrate opponents and hint at something forming beneath the surface. If the answers do not come, then the rebuild simply stretches further into the future.

Either way, the 2026 season is not about where the Athletics finish. It is about what they become. And that script will begin to be written this Friday March 27th in Toronto. Stay tuned!