The Athletics are reportedly nearing a decision concerning who will be running the club's baseball operations department after the team fired David Forst in August. They've offered the position to Sam Fuld, who instead decided to stay in his current role with the Philadelphia Phillies. That signals the A's are ready to make an announcement soon. 

With that in mind, Athletics Roundtable reached out to former San Francisco Giants executive Yeshayah Goldfarb, who had spent time as the team's vice president of baseball operations (2016-2019) and vice president, baseball resources and development as two of the many roles he held across 24 years with the team.

Goldfarb served as the president of the Oakland Ballers in 2026. 

"I think as far as these roles go, it's an exciting opportunity," Goldfarb said of the A's opening. "David Forst and the whole group there have built a really interesting roster that has a ton of upside."

He noted the A's young core, particularly the position-player side, being a bright spot that offers whoever lands the role some flexibility to build out and improve the roster. 

"The second thing that's appealing is I really think what they're building in Las Vegas has a chance to be a really unique, exciting stadium," Goldfarb continued. 

He also shared some of the questions that we've posed, like what kind of a home-field advantage this ballpark will provide and how it will play. The Las Vegas Raiders have to deal with opposing fan takeovers of their stadium at most home games, and given that the A's are also coming from Oakland, it's fair to question how quickly local fans will latch onto the product. 

As for how the ballpark will play, they'll be able to lessen some of the elevation factors since it'll be a domed park. With a roof on top, the A's will be able to control the environment a bit. It'll still be the second-highest elevation in baseball behind Colorado, which should lead to an offensive environment.

Arizona's Chase Field is about 1,100 feet above sea level, while Las Vegas Ballpark, where the Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators play, is around 3,000 feet above sea level. The Strip is right in the middle at about 2,000 feet above sea level, so the new ballpark, with a roof, may skew more towards Chase Field than LV Ballpark. 

"One question I would have through an interview process, just with the history of the ownership there, I would be curious — and I don't know that they'd answer — but would they consider selling the team in the next five years," Goldfarb wondered. "Because if you're going into a new job like this, and you're trying to build something, you know this franchise's value is probably going to go up a lot. 

"I think it's a fair question to ask, because that would impact your long-term employment and what they're investing in you as somebody coming in." 

Back in November of 2023, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported that the other 29 MLB owners had instituted a 10-year flip tax to prevent owner John Fisher from pumping up the franchise's value with the announcement of a new ballpark and then looking to sell the team immediately without being taxed. 

If he sells before 2028, Fisher will be taxed 20%, but that rate cuts in half if he sells the following year. From 2030 to 2033, he will be taxed a decreasing amount each year. The first year that he could sell the team without being taxed would be 2034. By that time, Fisher will be 73 years old. 

We asked Goldfarb what kind of background he would be targeting to fill this role, given where the A's are in analytics and some of the other deficiencies of the club that will have to be filled in on top of needing to add pieces to the roster to make it competitive. 

"I think David Forst was really good at what he does," Goldfarb said. "It's interesting, [because] the candidates are a little all over the spectrum. It's common to have teams like Milwaukee and Cleveland and Tampa Bay, who are lower-payroll teams that are having a ton of success, so you expect to see names from [those teams] because the A's have been in that position for a while. 

"I don't know if [the A's] will be in that position long-term, but [candidates from those teams] are in a culture that has shown success, so I could see [the A's] gravitating towards candidates like that."

He also mentioned that any candidate going in for an interview should get an understanding of what kinds of resources the team is looking to invest in baseball operations.

The A's have been towards the bottom in terms of the number of people working in baseball operations, which is also represented on the technology and research and development sides of things. Teams like Cleveland, Milwaukee, and Tampa Bay tend to invest in those ventures, and all three are low-budget teams playing in the Championship Series this season.  

"There's just a lot of infrastructure that you can build with people and with technology and with data that can, you know, take pitching to another level," Goldfarb said. "I'm sure that'll be evaluated immediately and be part of the acquisition strategy in terms of helping pitchers get better faster and change them.

"But also as you're bringing new pitchers in, having the right people around them that are developing them and evaluating them. So top to bottom, that becomes the focus." 

Fuld, longtime Texas Rangers GM Jon Daniels, and St. Louis Cardinals Assistant GM Rob Cerfolio have all decided to remain in their current roles, removing their names from consideration for the A's opening, rather than taking the leap with Fisher and the A's.

That could provide some insight into how rival executives view this opening and the resources they'll have to work with.