With Memorial Day behind us, the season is just over a third of the way complete. The A's sit at 27-29, just a half-game behind the Seattle Mariners, after getting swept by the M's to begin the week. This is the point in the season when the standings start to matter, because it's the next six to seven weeks that will determine the A's season.

The A's are in the hunt for the AL West right now, and are also tied with the Minnesota Twins and Toronto Blue Jays for the final spot in a crowded AL wild-card race. This is a team that expects to be challenging for a postseason spot, and will be assessing how to make it to October from here on out. 

A's GM David Forst was on A's Cast this week, and he lifted the curtain just a touch about the process the front office will be going through during this second third of the season.

"I think the first step, which we're dealing with right now is seeing who's healthy — both here and at the next two levels — and who has a chance to help us internally during that stretch. And then, come the middle of July, where do we need to be looking outside [of the organization]?

"Gage [Jump] is here. We've got some pitchers coming back in the minor leagues — Braden Nett, Henry Baez, Chen Zhong-Ao Zhuang. You've got guys like Kade Morris already pitching well. So we know what we have internally."

Pitching has been the focal point of this team all season, and they do have plenty of options to consider if a move needs to be made. On Wednesday night in Tacoma, Morris ended up tossing seven innings of one-run ball, giving up five hits, walking one and striking out four on 88 pitches (64 strikes). 

Nett, 23, has only made one appearance this season, back on April 25. Baez made his season debut on May 12 and has made three starts thus far, holding a 6.75 ERA across 9 1/3 innings in Double-A Midland.

Zhuang has struggled in Triple-A this season, which led to a demotion to Midland where he pitched well. That earned him another look in Vegas, where he struggled again, and he landed on the IL earlier this month. 

The A's have internal options to consider, but Forst didn't stop with internal options on the mound.

"You've seen Kuroda-Grauer, Tommy White move up. You've seen those guys perform at Triple-A. We've seen Leo [De Vries] continue his steady pace in Double-A. We're taking some time to talk about who's there internally, what are they going to be doing over the next six to seven weeks?

"That will then ultimately sort of guide us as we get into deadline talks, probably six weeks from now." 

The interesting part with naming those bats — including top prospect Leo De Vries — is that the A's have a lot of useful bats in the big leagues already. Four of them are signed to extensions. There isn't a ton of wiggle room for movement on the roster, especially once Jacob Wilson and Max Muncy return from injury. 

The A's have been stockpiling young bats for years in the draft, and the next six weeks will be their time to comb through the sluggers they have to figure out which ones are core pieces moving forward, and which are chess pieces for trades. 

The A's are going to need some arm upgrades before the season is out. Are you relying on the pitching prospects to pitch meaningful innings in 2026, or looking for upgrades on the trade market? Join AthleticsRoundtable — it's free — and let us know what trades you're making. Never miss an article by following Jason @ByJasonB!