A's Taylor Smith Pushes Back on Pitching Narratives Surrounding Club

The Athletics held a staff ERA of 5.53, ranking them 29th in MLB. At home, that ERA was an MLB-worst 6.37, while they fared much better on the road as a team, holding a 4.62 ERA, ranking them 21st in MLB. 

On MLB Network Radio on Monday, A's President of Baseball Operations Taylor Smith talked a little about the plan for the team this offseason, and even mentioned that it may not be solely based on the pitching side of things. 

"I would push back slightly — I know that the big narrative is the pitching, the pitching, the pitching," Smith said. "On the road last year, [the A's] were close to a league-average pitching staff. I think there are some particular difficulties associated with pitching in Sutter [Health Park] in a way that magnifies, or makes like the ERAs and the runs allowed look a little more extreme than probably what the problem is under the surface." 

MLB's league-average ERA was 4.18 in 2026. 

Back in August, Athletics Roundtable noted that the A's could actually have the makings of a decent-looking rotation in 2027, and that still holds true. At the same time, adding a veteran like Clay Holmes or Foster Griffin on a short-term deal would give the A's a lot more depth in the rotation, which would also help keep the bullpen from being overworked. 

Another factor that could have an impact on the A's pitching in 2027 is just replacing some of the departed arms with pitchers who have the tools to have success in West Sacramento, like a high ground-ball rate or a low walk rate.

The home woes were spread across the roster, with 14 pitchers (and one Carlos Cortes) holding an ERA above 6.00 at home. On the bright side, six of those arms are no longer with the team. Those six were Matt Krook (20.25 ERA), Scott Barlow (12.64 ERA), Joey Estes (11.05 ERA), José Suarez (7.43 ERA), Aaron Civale (6.96 ERA), and Jeffrey Springs (6.90 ERA). 

Springs also had the most innings pitched in Sacramento with 77, so replacing those with someone who even puts up a 5.00 ERA at home would be a huge step in the right direction. In total, those six arms combined for 156 ⅔ innings. In a typical season, there will be 729 home innings to cover, before any extra-inning contests, and those six arms were responsible for 21.5% of those innings. 

They combined to give up 137 earned runs in those 156 ⅔ innings, good for a 7.87 ERA. Without those six players, the A's home ERA dropped to 5.97. If the front office can find arms to replace them that can hold a 5.00 ERA at home, that would help bring the A's team ERA down to 5.76 at home. 

That is still astronomically high, but is already a big step in the right direction. Finding ways to chip away at that number will be the goal of the front office, and it could be figuring out how to get the most out of their internal options at home. 

Jack Perkins (7.34 ERA at home) and Gage Jump (6.27 ERA at home) are two pitchers who will have to improve at home, while free agent Mark Leiter Jr. (2.25 at home) could be someone the A's consider bringing back. 

The A's finding Scott Blewett (3.44 ERA at home) late in the season could end up being a nice pickup while the new front office builds out the pitching staff. Blewett was one of the final moves that former GM David Forst made before he was fired in early August. 

The A's have some pieces that can form a pretty decent roster when they're all healthy, so now Smith's role will be bringing in other players who can help fit into his roster puzzle. The first move he made was to bring in speedy outfielder Nate Eaton to improve the club's athleticism. 

"I think prioritizing the longer-term is probably the plan out of the gate," Smith said. "Not wanting to do anything too quickly, not be too rash. Really make sure you understand both the roster and the context that you're playing in."