The Athletics have been without a permanent general manager since August, and as of Saturday they finally have a favorite. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported Oct. 10 that Red Sox assistant general manager Taylor Smith has emerged as the top candidate to run the A’s baseball operations department. Nothing is finalized.
That last sentence is the whole story of this search.
How Long This Has Taken
The A’s parted with David Forst in early August, ending a run with the organization that started in 2000. Assistant GM Dan Feinstein took over on an interim basis for the rest of the season. The Athletic reported on Oct. 7 that a decision was expected by the end of that week. It was not made.
In between, the club worked through a long list and lost people from it. Former Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey turned down an interview, per a report from Aaron Gleeman, and has since taken a front office role with the Mets. Phillies executive Sam Fuld, a former Phillies general manager now in business operations, was offered the job to lead baseball operations and declined it.
Cardinals assistant GM Rob Cerfolio interviewed but is expected to stay in St. Louis, where he is the likelier internal promotion under Chaim Bloom. Cubs assistant GM Jared Banner and Brewers assistant GM Matt Kleine have been connected to the search. So have James Click, Mike Rizzo, Red Sox assistant GM Mike Groopman, and Billy Owens, the only internal candidate to surface publicly.
Who Smith Is
Smith came out of the Rays’ research and development group and was hired by Boston in October 2024, when Craig Breslow named him assistant general manager. He has run the Red Sox analytics department for two seasons. He has not been a general manager anywhere.
That is a defensible hire for this particular franchise. The A’s have missed the playoffs six straight seasons and finished fourth or worse in the AL West in each of the last five. They have one more year in Sacramento before moving to Las Vegas. A first-time decision maker hired on a long leash is the only kind of executive who takes a job like this and stays for the part that matters.
What It Means
Two candidates said no before a third became the favorite, which tells you how the job is viewed from the outside. The A’s are asking someone to build a roster worth watching in a minor league park, then move it across the desert into a brand new building, then compete. That is three jobs and one title.
Smith has the background to do the first part well. Nothing has been signed, and the A’s have let a week of reported deadlines pass already, so treat this as the leading name rather than the answer. The franchise that moves to Las Vegas in 2028 is going to be built by whoever takes this, and ownership has now spent two months failing to close it.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.