Call it a Christmas miracle. Call it a changing of the times. But the Athletics are officially spending money this offseason, locking up left fielder Tyler Soderstrom on a 7 year, $86M contract extension.
The 24 year old impressed in 2025, hitting .276/.346/.474 to go along with 25 homers, and 93 RBIs across 158 games. His first full season in the big leagues also featured above average defence in the outfield despite having primarily played catcher and 1st base throughout his minor league and amateur career.
The A’s, long known for developing talent and then flipping it for cost controllable assets, are clearly looking to shed the image of a “small market club” as they prepare to make their move to Las Vegas. The club will play a handful of games at the Las Vegas Ballpark (home of the Aviators) in 2026, before officially kicking things off in their new stadium in 2028.
As such, the club’s front office has been busy locking up homegrown talent such as Soderstrom, Brent Rooker, and Lawrence Butler who are all now signed through at least the 2030 MLB campaign. After going 76-86 last year, management clearly feels as though the team is close to contending in the suddenly wide open AL West.
The Athletics have seen their win total jump from 50, to 69, and then 76 in each of the last 3 seasons. Houston, who had won 7 of the last 8 division titles until Seattle dethroned them in 2025 appear to be watching their window to contend slowly close, while the A’s have seen steady improvement year over year.
Last winter, the team handed out a franchise record $67M free agent contract to sign RHP Luis Severino. This offseason the team has signed free agent reliever Mark Leiter Jr., and recently traded for 2B Jeff McNeil from the New York Mets.
With reigning AL Rookie of the Year Nick Kurtz, and fellow budding star Jacob Wilson also in the mix, the Athletics goal of arriving in the desert with a contending roster suddenly looks like a real possibility.
Photo: Jeffrey Hyde. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.