On Monday, the Athletics announced that they have hired former Boston Red Sox assistant general manager Taylor Smith as their newest general manager.

The A's are coming off a season that saw them go 64-98 and finish fourth in the extremely mediocre American League West. The A's finished with a run differential of -238, by far the worst in the big leagues.

The Seattle Mariners went 76-86 to finish third in the division, 12 games ahead of the A's.

While the Mariners seem to be in a better spot than the A's right now, it's always worth checking in on your rivals, so let's take a look at what the hiring of Smith can mean for the Mariners.

While the A's were one of baseball's worst teams in 2026, they were also one of baseball's most injured teams. Shea Langaliers, Brent Rooker, Nick Kurtz, Jacob Wilson, Tyler Soderstrom, Zack Gelof and Luis Severino all missed significant time.

However, if those pieces are healthy next year, the A's have the potential to be a very big thorn in the Mariners side again. They have a deeply talented, young core. Again, if they can just stay healthy, they can be good - quickly.

The pitching remains a problem for the A's as they continue to play in a minor league ballpark in West Sacramento, Calif. That environment will make it tough for the A's to sign pitching, so they may have to trade from their core to acquire it via trade. That will be Smith's job to figure out.

If they don't want to do that, then the A's are looking at another tough year on the pitching front, which should allow the Mariners a chance to remain ahead of them.

The A's are scheduled to move into their new ballpark in Las Vegas in 2028 and they certainly figure to be aggressive in trying to be successful once they get there. The labor situation this offseason might keep them at bay for a year, but heading into 2028, you can bet the A's will get out of their comfort zone to be competitive.

As a result, they seem like a bit of a sleeping giant. And with the Los Angeles Angels set to be taken over by Stan Kroenke, they do too.

That means the mediocre American League West is about to get much deeper in the next few years and the Mariners will have to fight to stay ahead of the curve.