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The 2026 Major League Baseball season will begin shortly. At Passion MLB, as has been the case for years, we are setting the stage for the season by introducing the 30 teams of Major League Baseball.
Today, the Athletics are on the menu.
2025 Season
Those who left Oakland for Las Vegas had a ten-game below .500 campaign in Sacramento last year. There was a sense that good progress was being made, but too many pieces were missing to aspire to anything.
Additions and departures
The A's biggest acquisition this winter is undoubtedly Jeff McNeil from the New York Mets. The 34-year-old veteran will begin the final year of his contract in Sacramento, having posted a .243 batting average with 12 home runs and 54 RBIs in 2025, with injuries limiting him to just 122 games.
Conversely, the Athletics' biggest loss is J.J. Bleday. After exploding in his first full season in 2024, he regressed considerably last year, but will still be missed by the A's.
In addition to the two players mentioned above, Aaron Civale, Scott Barlow, Andy Ibanez, and Mark Leiter Jr. will be added to the lineup, while Ken Waldichuk, Scott McGough, José Leclerc, Sean Newcomb, and Max Schuemann will not be returning.
Strengths and weaknesses
Not only do the Athletics have an excellent core of young players, but they are even paying them to stay, something we haven't seen in a long time. Brent Rooker, Lawrence Butler, Tyler Soderstrom, and Jacob Wilson are under contract for at least five years and will all be ones to watch in 2026.
The young core arrived to @Athletics Photo Day
Lawrence Butler
Nick Kurtz
— MLB (@MLB) February 21, 2026
On the other side of the spectrum, the starting rotation is expected to have its share of trouble next year. Jeffrey Springs is on the decline and is almost certain to be traded at the trade deadline, while Aaron Civale has declined to the point of pitching for five teams in the last three years.
That leaves Luis Morales, Jacob Lopez, and Luis Severino, the latter of whom posted a 6.00 ERA on the road compared to a 3.01 ERA at home. And there won't be any young arms coming up from the minor leagues to save the day.
Expectations for the 2026 season
The A's aren't expected to win the American League West division, but the Sacramento team is moving in the right direction.
If the big hitters can have solid seasons, a Wild Card spot is not out of the question. However, the pitching staff will have to hold down the fort in the meantime, otherwise it will be game over, as has been the case in the past.
Created by humans, assisted by AI.
