How Far Can the Athletics Talented Young Lineup Take Them in 2026?
Since the dawn of time, the Athletics have been known as a cheap franchise. They’ve consistently slotted in towards the very bottom of the league's payroll rankings. The organization has finally started to show some intention of moving up the list. The team moving away from Oakland with the intention of beginning play in Las Vegas ahead of the 2028 season could be a big factor in this. It’s been a little while since the Athletics have played postseason baseball. They’ve fallen short of the playoffs in each of the last five seasons.
The Athletics have recently handed out four contract extensions to some of their key position players, keeping them in an A’s uniform for the long haul. They first agreed to terms with known power-threat Brent Rooker on a five-year, $60 million extension in January of last year. The 31-year-old hasn’t played the field much, but the plan is for him to occupy their DH spot for the foreseeable future. In March of last year, the A’s got to work again on another extension; this time it was with young outfielder Lawrence Butler. This was a seven-year, $65.5 million contract. The 25-year-old can play anywhere in the outfield, but he’ll likely be the team's right fielder for the next several seasons. The largest of the four extensions that the Athletics have handed out recently went to 24-year-old corner outfielder Tyler Soderstrom. The two sides agreed to the deal in December of this year after his breakout 2025 season. The most recent lucrative contract that the A’s handed out went to young shortstop Jacob Wilson. The 23-year-old signed a $70 million contract that will keep him in an Athletics uniform for the next seven seasons. This comes after an incredible rookie season where he finished second in AL Rookie of the Year Award voting.
These extensions give the Athletics a ton of stability in their lineup plans for the future. They also have a couple of other position players who could potentially be candidates for an extension. 28-year-old catcher Shea Langeliers is coming off a really good 2025 season, during which he played solid defense behind the plate while also mashing 31 homers. He still has three seasons left of arbitration, so even without an extension, he’ll be an Athletic for the foreseeable future. The biggest young star in this Athletics lineup is undoubtedly Nick Kurtz. The 23-year-old had one of the best offensive seasons by a rookie in MLB history last year. In a 117-game span, he hit 36 home runs and had a 1.002 OPS, which led to him being selected unanimously for the American League Rookie of the Year Award. It would likely take a significant offer for the Wake Forest product to agree to an extension. The two sides have reportedly discussed a deal, and the Athletics have made an offer, but there have been no reports of an imminent deal. Even if an extension doesn’t get done, Kurtz is still under contract for at least another five seasons.
It's clear that the Athletics have one of the best young offenses in the game, and it should stay that way for the foreseeable future. Even last season, despite having one of the youngest rosters in the game, they had an above-average lineup that ranked 12th in baseball in runs per game. The Athletics did this mostly by being one of the best power-hitting lineups. As a team, they hit a total of 219 home runs, which ranked seventh in the league. Brent Rooker, Nick Kurtz, and Shea Langeliers were all a part of the 30-home run club.
There aren't many question marks when it comes to the lineup for next season's squad; in the outfield, they've got Tyler Soderstrom and Lawrence Butler occupying both the corner spots and defensive wizard Denzel Clarke in center. Nick Kurtz is arguably the best first baseman in the game, headlining an infield that also features rookie of the year finalist Jacob Wilson at short and newly acquired veteran Jeff McNeil at second base. The only unproven player in their lineup is 23-year-old Max Muncy, who is projected to start at the hot corner. In his rookie season last year, he played a total of 63 games for the A’s. Defensively, he made a nice first impression, but his offense showed room for improvement with just a 75 OPS+. This lineup could be even more dangerous if Muncy can leap next season. They’ll also have another proven power hitter behind the plate with Langeliers.
The Athletics' offense could easily be one of the best in the American League next year, but is it good enough to make up for a pitching staff that's projected to be one of the worst in the majors? Last season's staff posted a team ERA of 4.70, the fourth-worst in the league. They only had one arm in their rotation last season that made over 20 starts and had an above-league-average ERA. That was 33-year-old left-hander Jeffrey Springs, who barely reached that threshold, pitching to a 4.11 ERA just four points above league average. The team hoped that recently signed right-hander Luis Severino would have a better season as the staff leader. He signed the largest free agent contract in franchise history this past offseason, a three-year, $67 million deal. The 32-year-old stayed healthy, making 29 starts; he just didn’t put up the numbers they expected. He pitched to a 4.54 ERA with a 6.9 K/9 and a 1.30 WHIP on the season. Both Springs and Severino will be key members of the A’s rotation again next season.
The Athletics front office didn’t do much this offseason to improve on last season's rotation. They did bring in another experienced arm in 30-year-old Aaron Civale. The seven-year major league veteran pitched for all three of the White Sox, Brewers, and Cubs last year, posting a 4.85 ERA in 102.0 innings. He signed a one-year, $6 million contract and will likely be in the back end of the A’s rotation. One internal option that will need to take a step forward in 2026 is 28-year-old Jacob Lopez. The left-hander showed potential last season, pitching to a 4.08 ERA, with a well-above-average strikeout rate. In the 92.2 innings he pitched last year, he struck out 113 batters. If the former 26th-round draft pick makes some improvements in 2026, it would be huge for the Athletics' starting rotation.
Ultimately, there is a massive gap in the level of concern between the Athletics' lineup and their pitching. With no major additions made to address a pitching staff that was one of the worst in baseball a season ago, the lineup will likely have to be even better to snap a five-year postseason drought. However, even with a squad that is projected to miss out on the postseason again next year, it doesn’t discount how impressive a job the A’s front office has done in locking up most of their young position players for the long haul. Regardless of whether the lineup can carry them to a postseason appearance in 2026, they’ll still have a great position player group to build around for the future. If the Athletics can eventually find some answers on the mound, this young core could quickly turn the franchise into a surprising contender for years to come.
