A's Bet on Pitching Development with Cam Castro Hire

At the introductory press conference for president of baseball operations Taylor Smith, Athletics owner John Fisher left open the possibility that the club could also hire a GM to work in tandem with Smith. On Wednesday morning, that hire was reportedly made.

According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the A's have hired former Milwaukee Brewers vice president Cam Castro to take over the GM role. Castro spent seven months as a pitching trainer at Driveline from December 2015 to June 2016, then became the head baseball coach at Lake Erie College in Ohio for two seasons. 

Castro was hired by the Brewers in January of 2019 as a minor-league pitching coach, working his way up to minor-league pitching coordinator (November 2019 to November 2021), director of pitching development (November 2021 to July 2022), vice president of player development (July 2022 to October 2024), and then finally to senior vice president of player development and performance (October 2024 to November 2026). 

That's a lot of experience on the pitching side of things, which is a great sign for A's pitchers — and A's fans. With a resume that has both the pitching lab at Driveline and one of the best organizations at getting the most out of its pitchers in Milwaukee, Castro appears to be a terrific hire for what the A's need. 

“I'm beyond thankful to John Fisher, Taylor Smith, Ross Bowen and the entire Athletics organization for this opportunity,” Castro said. “The A's are a historic franchise with an incredible legacy. I look forward to being a part of the next chapter of A's baseball and developing a team, culture, and organization that our fans will be proud of.”

Since 2021, the Brewers have ranked second in MLB in team ERA with a 3.63, sitting behind just the Los Angeles Dodgers (3.55) though with much less money spent on payroll. The A's' current rebuild began in 2022, and in the five seasons since, they have ranked 29th in team ERA with a 4.93, one spot ahead of the Colorado Rockies. 

The Athletics have been behind the times in terms of development and analytics for quite a long time, but now, with the team's move to Las Vegas on the horizon, the investment in those areas appears to finally be coming from ownership. 

It's tough to envision hiring two bright minds to revitalize the front office without giving them the tools they've found success with elsewhere that the A's are hoping to replicate on their journey to Las Vegas. 

“Cam will be an awesome addition to the front office and a great partner to me in running this organization,” said A’s president of baseball operations Taylor Smith. “He has experiences and skillsets that will complement me and the very talented people that we already have in the organization. He's one of the best development minds in the game with a proven track record of building the systems and processes that develop a winner.”

That strong track record in development will come in handy immediately, as the A's need to make strides with the pitching staff in 2027 in order to ultimately make strides toward a return to the postseason.