The organization announces a "mutual" split with its longtime GM, but reporting suggests he was fired. With Forst gone, ownership may soon turn its attention to the manager.
Amid the Athletics 8-game losing streak and a streak of play that has seen them tumble to 45-70 on the season, the club and GM David Forst have parted ways. The press release says that the A's and Forst have mutually parted ways, while Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic says he was fired.
Assistant General Manager Dan Feinstein has been named Interim General Manager for the remainder of the 2026 season. The A’s will begin a comprehensive search for the next General Manager.
"David has been an integral part of the A’s and our success for nearly three decades," said A’s Owner and Managing Partner John Fisher. "His leadership, dedication, and commitment to this team have helped shape our baseball operations department and position us for the future. We are grateful for everything David has done for our organization.”
We asked Forst in July if there had been any progress on an extension for himself, with his contract expiring at the end of the season. He said there was no deal in place, but this pattern has repeated before—Forst has signed extensions shortly after past seasons ended.
There were also questions about whether Forst, whose family has deep Bay Area roots, would ultimately make the move to Las Vegas. Now, that decision has been made.
“It was truly an honor to spend the last 27 years with the A’s, especially the last 11 as the GM,” said Forst. “This organization is full of incredibly talented, devoted, and good people, and I am lucky to have worked alongside them for so long.”
Larger Impact on Mark Kotsay
Ownership hasn't been terribly involved in these types of moves in the past, generally letting Billy Beane and David Forst run the show while John Fisher handles the larger scale items. While they have fired a couple of managers like Ken Macha and Bob Geren, in recent seasons they haven't made such moves under the steady hand of Bob Melvin, and now Mark Kotsay.
The relationship between Forst and Kotsay has been good, but now with Forst's departure from the franchise, could ownership set its sights on Kotsay?
The results haven't been there for the franchise, with the A's going 300-463 (.393) in his five seasons with the club, but at the same time, they were entering a rebuild when he took over, as well as beginning a relocation process. Kotsay has been the guy to answer all of the tough questions, not ownership. He has been their shield.
But the results on the field will be important next season, with the Vegas move expected in 2028. If the A's are still playing like a team that's out of it by August, then that would severely hurt the A's chances at success in Vegas. They need to come in hot.
Would Kotsay be that guy? Without Forst on board, this is now a much tougher question to answer for the franchise.
