A decision on who will be the A's next GM is expected by the end of the postseason.
The Athletics fired GM David Forst just after the trade deadline and have been on the hunt for a new person to run the baseball side of the franchise since. The expectation is that someone will be named before the end of the postseason.
Recently, Russell Dorsey of Yahoo! Sports talked to a number of top executives of front offices around the game and asked them who would be at the top of their list if they were hiring a new GM. Former Texas Rangers GM Jon Daniels was the overwhelming favorite.
On Sunday, Bob Nightengale of USA Today is reporting that Daniels has taken his name out of consideration for the A's job, citing personal reasons and enjoying his current role as a senior advisor in baseball operations for the Tampa Bay Rays.
While this does cover one issue we've mentioned — that the team wasn't targeting the top-tier guys that are available — it does still fall into another problem area, which is how desirable the A's job seems to be within the industry, even with the planned move to Las Vegas in 2028.
While there are only 30 GM jobs, there are two more available in the AL West this offseason, and each has a little more stability that the Athletics right now. The Angels are getting a new owner next year, making that job desirable in a big market with huge upside.
The Astros seem to cycle through GMs regularly, but there is a winning culture that has been established. A new GM wouldn't be starting from scratch necessarily.
For the A's, they're in the process of moving to Las Vegas, but still have one year left in West Sacramento, where the team has not fared well across two seasons, going just 68-94 at home. A new GM would have to figure out how to find success in Sacramento and then immediately turn their attention to building for a brand new ballpark with unknown park factors.
There is a decent chance that the types of players (pitchers in particular) needed to have success at each venue will not have the same set of skills. Add in that the team will need to have success in both 2027 and 2028 in order to maximize excitement for A's baseball on The Strip, and there is a lot of added pressure that comes with this specific role.
Finally there is the perception of ownership accrued over two decades of not spending on the roster that adds another challenge to the equation. This is also the biggest decision that ownership will make this winter, so there is a need to find the right person to lead the front office into the team's new chapter.
