A Season of Unfulfilled Hope
The Athletics entered the year with high expectations. They had a talented group of young players and were coming off a strong finish to their previous campaign. Playing in the AL West, which was won by Houston with a .500 record, they had a real chance to make a postseason run.
Instead, things went completely wrong. The team finished with a poor 64-98 record. Only Colorado and the Los Angeles Angels had worse records in the league. A struggling pitching staff did not help, especially while playing in their temporary, hitter friendly stadium in West Sacramento.
Unprecedented Injury Crisis
Injuries were the main reason for the team's collapse. Manager Mark Kotsay, who spent 17 seasons as a player and has managed the club for five years, admitted he had never seen anything like it. His top five opening day players all went down and missed more than 60 games each.
Key players like Nick Kurtz, Brent Rooker, Jacob Wilson, Shea Langeliers, and Tyler Soderstrom missed a combined 340 games. Out of that group, only Langeliers was able to finish the season, and he could only do so as a designated hitter. Infielder Max Muncy also went on the injured list recently with a knee issue.
The Severino Situation and the Future
The pitching rotation took a massive blow when starter Luis Severino went on the injured list on May 30 with a strained right shoulder. He did not pitch again for the rest of the year. Severino signed a three year, 67 million dollar contract in December 2024, but he has an option to opt out this offseason. He currently holds a 10-17 record with a 4.43 ERA with the team.
Interim general manager Dan Feinstein said the decision to stay or leave is entirely up to Severino. Meanwhile, the club is looking forward to next year. They plan to play their final season in Sacramento before their scheduled move to Las Vegas in 2028, despite a potential lockout looming over the league.
Finding Positives and Next Steps
Despite the disappointment, the front office saw some bright spots. Young players like Zack Gelof, Joshua Kuroda-Grauer, and Henry Bolte stepped up when injuries forced them into bigger roles.
The team will now evaluate its entire organization, including the medical and training staff. However, Kotsay does not believe there is a single training issue to blame. He noted that some injuries, like those to Langeliers and Soderstrom, happened during specific plays on the field, while Severino's injury might have been linked to his early pitching intensity in the World Baseball Classic.
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