2026 Athletics

2026 Athletics / Franchise: The Athletics / BR Team Page

Record: , Finished in AL Western Division (2026 AL)

Managed by Mark Kotsay

Coaches: Mike Aldrete, Darren Bush, Ryan Christenson, Chris Cron, Bobby Crosby, Scott Emerson, Ramon Hernandez, Dan Hubbs and Marcus Jensen

Ballpark: Sutter Health Park, Las Vegas Ballpark (June 8-14)

History, Comments, Contributions

The 2026 Athletics were in the second season of their transition between their former home in Oakland, CA to their future home in Las Vegas, NV, again playing out of a AAA ballpark, Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, CA. Their first season there had been very promising, ending up with 76 wins after a strong second half, while young players like 1B Nick Kurtz and SS Jacob Wilson emerged as budding stars. The question was whether the team would be able to take another step forward this year.

The Athletics were not given an easy assignment to begin the season, having to go to the Rogers Centre to play a three-game set against the Toronto Blue Jays starting on March 27th, before packed houses celebrating the Jays' great 2025 season. They gave the Jays a run for their money, though, losing the first two games on the last at-bat, the second going into extra innings, before the Jays completed the sweep with an easier 5-2 win in the finale. One thing that stood out was how much the A's batters struck out - 50 times over the three games, with Toronto's three starting pitchers, Kevin Gausman, Dylan Cease and Eric Lauer, racking up 11, 12 and 9 Ks respectively. On the positive side, however, the A's showed they could hit the long ball, with C Shea Langeliers hitting three including a grand slam in the first two games, and 3B Max Muncy hitting a two-run blast in the final game. It wasn't clear how many lessons could be learned from that first series, though, given the strength of their opponent. Indeed, the Athletics played a lot better after that and were in fact one of the surprise stories of April and May, briefly rising to the top of the standings in the AL West from April 11 to May 26th, with only a few games outside the top spot during that run. That coincided with Nick Kurtz reaching base in 48 straight games and being named the AL Player of the Month for May.

The Athletics decided to get acquainted with their future fans base in Sin City by moving a three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers to Las Vegas Ballpark, normally the home of the AAA Las Vegas Aviators, on June 8-10. The minor league ballpark proved to be too small for major league hitters, at least in the opening game when the two teams combined for 29 runs and 11 homers, with Kurtz and Tyler Soderstrom both going deep twice for the A's. To reassure fans of normal baseball, the A's were planning to have a bespoke ballpark built to major league specifications before making the permanent move to the Nevada desert. In any case, after hitting seven homers in the first game, the A's then blasted five more the next day to tie the franchise record for most long balls over a two-game span, that dated back to 1996. The series against Milwaukee was followed by a three-game set against the Colorado Rockies and the A's ended winning four of the six games played in Vegas. The final game against Colorado on June 14th proved to be another slugfest as the Rockies set a franchise record for most runs in a game in a 23-9 win, blasting six homers and adding further to the temporary ballpark's reputation as a bandbox.

Awards and Honors

• All-Stars: Nick Kurtz and Shea Langeliers

Further Reading

2026 MLB season by team