Forst Confirms Offers Made in Extension Talks With Young Core

The Oakland Athletics are entering a pivotal stretch in franchise history, and it has little to do with splashy free-agent signings. Instead, the club is quietly laying the groundwork for its future core.

With a move to Las Vegas on the horizon and a wave of young talent emerging, the A’s are reportedly exploring contract extensions for several foundational players. This approach could shape how competitive—and honestly, how relevant—this franchise will be when it opens the doors of its new ballpark in 2028.

Oakland’s Offseason Strategy: Quiet Moves, Big Implications

On the surface, the A’s offseason has been subdued. The most notable roster addition so far is a one-year agreement with veteran right-hander Mark Leiter Jr., a stabilizing arm but hardly a headline-grabbing move.

Behind the scenes, though, general manager David Forst says the club has started extension talks with multiple young players who look like the franchise’s next core. He didn’t name names publicly, but the likely candidates aren’t exactly a mystery.

The Young Core Drawing Extension Interest

The group believed to be at the center of these conversations includes:

All four players are under team control through at least the beginning of the Las Vegas era, with free agency timelines staggered from 2028 through 2031. Locking them up now would give the A’s rare continuity at key positions and a marketable core to sell to fans in both Oakland and their future home.

From 76 Wins to Signs of Life

The 2025 season ended with the A’s at 76–86, a record that doesn’t scream contender. But the story changes when you zoom in on the second half.

Oakland closed the season with a 35–29 run, fueled heavily by those same young pieces now at the center of extension talks. Kurtz and Wilson, in particular, injected new energy into a lineup that had often lacked impact talent in recent years.

For a franchise that has spent much of the last decade toggling between teardown and reset, that second-half surge mattered, both in the standings and in the clubhouse.

Why the Second Half Matters for the Future

Front offices don’t just look at final records; they study trends. That 35–29 finish suggests the A’s may be closer to respectability than their year-end record implies.

It also gives ownership and management a data-driven reason to believe that investing in this core could pay off—on the field and at the gate—once the team relocates.

Las Vegas 2028: Building a Team Worth Watching

The franchise’s planned move to a new Las Vegas ballpark in 2028 looms over every decision. The A’s know that showing up in a new market as a 90-loss team just won’t work long-term.

To capture a new fanbase, they need recognizable, homegrown stars under contract and trending upward. Securing multi-year extensions for players like Kurtz, Wilson, Langeliers, and Soderstrom would give the club a clear identity when it opens in Las Vegas.

A young, ascending team built around talent that fans have watched develop feels like the right pitch for a fresh start.

Extensions as a Marketing and Stability Tool

Extensions aren’t just about roster planning; they’re about signaling intent. For a franchise frequently criticized for its churn of star players, committing to this core would send a message that the A’s want to build something sustainable, not just flip talent at peak value.

The Money Question: Can the A’s Pay to Keep Their Stars?

This is where optimism collides with reality. Under owner John Fisher, the A’s have run with one of the lowest payrolls in baseball and have usually approached long-term spending with extreme caution.

Any set of extensions for this group will require the organization to stretch well beyond its usual comfort zone. Current projections suggest:

Soderstrom, depending on his development and defensive home, would fall somewhere behind Kurtz financially but still represent a significant long-term investment.

The Challenge of Convincing Players to Commit

There’s another layer beyond dollars: belief. For these young stars to sign away free-agent years, they’ll want more than just fair market value—they’ll want assurances that the club intends to keep improving the roster.

Without a credible plan to supplement the core with additional talent, Oakland risks a familiar problem. Young stars may hesitate to tie their prime years to a franchise that has too often shied away from sustained contention.

What’s at Stake for the A’s

The A’s are at a crossroads. Extension talks with Kurtz, Wilson, Langeliers, and Soderstrom mean more than just saving money on arbitration.

These negotiations really test whether this organization wants to win—right now and as they move toward Las Vegas.

If the front office and ownership actually make meaningful commitments, the A’s could show up in 2028 with a core fans recognize and a story that’s worth caring about. But if they don’t, well, it’s hard not to worry about the same old cycle: flashes of talent, brief hope, and then a reset just when things start to get interesting.

 
Here is the source article for this story: Forst: “We’ve Made Offers” In Extension Talks With Young Core