The Athletics have an opportunity this season to reset some of the team's payroll with three big contracts potentially coming off the books. RHP Luis Severino has a $22 million player option, while LHP Jeffrey Springs holds a $15 million team option, and 1B/2B Jeff McNeil's team option is worth $15.75 million for the 2027 season. Those decisions will have to be made within five days of the end of the World Series. 

Combined, that comes out to $52.75 million that the team would have coming off the books if none of the three return. Interim GM Dan Feinstein said earlier this week that the club hopes Severino chooses to come back to Sacramento, but did not provide an indication of where the team stood on Springs or McNeil. 

McNeil's option comes with a $2 million buyout if the A's decline, and Springs would be owed $750,000 if the team declines his option. 

Not all of that potential savings will be free to spend in free agency or to add payroll via trade, however.

Left fielder Tyler Soderstrom will get a $5 million salary bump thanks to his extension, while DH Brent Rooker jumps from $8 million to $14 million. Shortstop Jacob Wilson will be making just under $3 million total in 2027, an increase of $1.5 million, and right fielder Lawrence Butler's salary increases by $2 million. 

That's an increase of $14.5 million total year-over-year for the four players with extensions. 

The A's only have four players set for arbitration this offseason, and three of those players will be entering their first year of the process. The Arizona Diamondbacks are the only other team with as few as four players eligible this winter.

The majority of clubs range from six to ten players, while the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays each have a whopping 17. Each of these estimates is provided by MLB Trade Rumors in their annual post, which tends to be fairly accurate. 

Catcher Shea Langeliers (second year) is estimated for $8.7 million. He made $5.25 million in 2026. 

Right-hander Luis Medina (first year) is estimated to make $1.4 million. He made $835,000 in 2026. 

Left-hander Hogan Harris (first year) is estimated to make $2.3 million. He made $785,000 in 2026. 

Third baseman Zack Gelof (first year) is estimated to make $2.9 million.  He made $790,000 in 2026. 

The increase in payroll from what these four players made in 2026 to their projected arbitration in 2027 is $7.64 million. Combined with the increases in salary to the extended players, that's a total of $22.14 million. In theory, the A's would have about $27.86 million to spend this offseason if all three players leave. 

Langeliers earned his first All-Star appearance this season, batting .262 with a .328 OBP and a 115 wRC+ (100 is league average) across 106 games. He still ended up hitting 23 home runs and driving in 58 RBI, despite undergoing surgery in July. He returned to the club for his final 13 games as a DH.

Medina had an up-and-down campaign, but finished with a 3.08 ERA (3.57 FIP) in 60 appearances and became one of the team's best late-inning weapons down the stretch. 

Harris was never declared the closer at any point in the season, but he ended up saving 17 games and posting a 3.33 ERA (4.08 FIP). He also posted a career-high strikeout rate of 28.3%. 

Gelof had a season where he clawed his way back into the team's core after a couple of rough seasons, and is now seen as the club's third baseman entering 2027. He began the year in Triple-A Las Vegas and faced injuries during the season, but he kept coming back and posting numbers. He finished batting .256 with a .322 OBP and a 114 wRC+ across 111 games. He also popped 22 home runs. 

The A's estimated payroll on Roster Resource ended up just shy of $95.5 million, while the payroll for luxury tax purposes sat at $146.6 million.