A’s are bringing back prominent member of front office for 2026
General manager David Forst will remain with the Athletics on a new contract after his current contract was set to expire in 2025.
“I will be back in 2026,” Forst said during an end-of-season video call with reporters Tuesday.
The expiration of Forst’s contract raised questions heading into the offseason, while he would presumably be a strong candidate for front office roles with other teams.
Details of the contract were not disclosed, but the new deal ensures Forst will oversee at least the A’s second season in West Sacramento ahead of the planned move to a new ballpark on the Las Vegas strip in 2028.
The A’s finished their first season in California’s capital region on Sunday with a 76-86 record, winning seven more games than 2024, their final year in Oakland. That improvement came despite a historically rough stretch from May to early June in which the A’s lost 20 of 21 games.
Forst has built a promising roster centered around young players such as likely American League Rookie of the Year winner Nick Kurtz and shortstop Jacob Wilson, who is expected to finish second in Rookie of the Year voting and started the All-Star game in July. The A’s also believe catcher Shea Langeliers, outfielders Tyler Soderstrom and Lawrence Butler and All-Star designated hitter Brent Rooker can be the core of a contender with the proper improvements to the roster for next season.
“I’m as optimistic about this team, the organization, the system and the talent in the system as I have been in a long time,” Forst said. “There’s no sugarcoating the overall record, where we were in the standings, and certainly no sugarcoating what we went through in May.
“But I think you’ve seen since then, there are a lot of ways to slice up this season ... since June and July, that says we’re headed in the right direction and we had a lot of successes to be very proud of in 2025.”
Of course, what’s happened between the lines has largely been overshadowed by the A’s move out of Oakland after 57 seasons and owner John Fisher’s decision to relocate the team, abandoning a passionate fanbase in the Bay Area after years of low payrolls and trading away star players.
The A’s finished last among MLB’s 30 teams in attendance, averaging 9,487 fans per game at Sutter Health Park, a minor-league stadium with a capacity of roughly 13,800.
Forst noted he expects the A’s payroll to increase again next season after ranking 25th in 2025 with players costing $79.1 million, according to Spotrac.com. The team signed lucrative contracts last offseason with starting pitcher Luis Severino and inked long-term extensions with Butler and Rooker. Forst said he’s had conversation with Fisher about extensions for Kurtz and Wilson.
“It’s a two-way street,” Forst said of potential negotiations. “But I imagine we’ll be initiating some of those conversations in the next months.”
Forst, a Harvard alum, started his front office career with the A’s as a scout in 2000 before replacing Billy Beane as general manager in 2015. The A’s made the playoffs three times in 2018 through 2020 with Forst as general manager.
