Athletics interview Mike Rizzo and Billy Owens for GM vacancy, per USA Today

The Athletics have interviewed former Washington Nationals president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo and longtime A's assistant GM Billy Owens for their full-time general manager vacancy, per USA Today's Bob Nightengale, as reported by Mark Polishuk of MLB Trade Rumors.

What happened

Per Nightengale's report, Rizzo and Owens join James Click as the only candidates publicly linked to the position. Whether Click has actually sat down for a formal interview remains unclear, per the report. The A's front office has been operating without a permanent GM for a little over a month, following the departure of David Forst. Nightengale writes that the club "would like to make their hire before the season's conclusion," which would suggest an announcement could arrive in the near term — though no timeline has been made public by the club.

The search has almost certainly extended beyond the three names currently in public view. As MLB Trade Rumors notes, the A's have had ample time to speak with candidates whose names have not surfaced.

Why it matters

This is a franchise at a crossroads in more ways than one. Whoever takes the GM chair will be shaping a roster and a scouting infrastructure for a club still finding its footing. The hire carries weight that goes well beyond the final weeks of this season.

The three publicly known candidates represent meaningfully different profiles. Rizzo and Click are both World Series-winning general managers — Rizzo with Washington in 2019, Click with Houston — while Owens would be stepping into the role as a first-time GM. That distinction matters for how the organization frames the job: experienced hand steadying a rebuild, or internal continuity candidate given a long-overdue promotion.

Owens's case rests on institutional depth. Per MLB Trade Rumors, he has been with the A's organization for most of the last three decades, joining as a minor league hitting instructor and working his way up to assistant GM. There is something almost quietly compelling about a franchise that has long prided itself on unconventional thinking potentially elevating someone who has spent the better part of three decades in the building.

The Rizzo file

Mike Rizzo's résumé is long enough to require its own section. Per MLB Trade Rumors, his path to the top of a front office ran through years of scouting work with the White Sox, Red Sox, and Diamondbacks before he joined Washington as an assistant GM partway through the 2006 season. When Jim Bowden resigned just before the start of the 2009 campaign, Rizzo was elevated to interim GM and given the permanent title before the year was out.

What followed was a 17-year run that produced four NL East titles, winning records every season from 2012 through 2019, and the 2019 World Series championship. The homegrown core of that era — Bryce Harper, Stephen Strasburg, and Anthony Rendon — were all drafted under Rizzo's watch. Juan Soto emerged from Washington's international scouting operation during his tenure. Rizzo also added Max Scherzer and Trea Turner through trades and signings.

The back half of that tenure is equally part of the record. Per MLB Trade Rumors, 2019 remains the Nationals' last winning season. The blockbuster Soto trade in 2022 brought significant new talent into the organization, but draft returns were inconsistent, and the rebuild stalled. An 11-game losing streak in June 2025 proved to be a breaking point; Rizzo and manager Davey Martinez were both let go a week into July 2025. A front office that built a World Series winner and then couldn't launch the next cycle is a complicated thing to evaluate — and the A's, presumably, are doing exactly that evaluation right now.

Where the club stands

The San Francisco Giants carry a 62-87 record (.416) into this week, sitting 4th in the NL West, 28 games back in the division, and ranked 11th in the Wild Card picture at 18.5 games relative to the cut line. They have been eliminated from both the division race and the Wild Card race, and arrive on a two-game losing streak.

San Francisco heads to Busch Stadium for a three-game series against the Cardinals beginning Monday, with Landen Roupp projected to face Quinn Mathews. Tuesday brings Blade Tidwell against Andre Pallante, and Wednesday's starter for the Giants is listed as TBD against Matthew Liberatore. The games themselves carry little playoff consequence, but the organizational decisions being made around the league this week will shape the roster-building environment many clubs enter this winter.

The Giants have had their own share of roster turbulence in recent days. A week removed from reportedly claiming right-hander Duncan Davitt off waivers from the Braves — with Spencer Bivens designated in the corresponding move — the club is also managing the aftermath of Rafael Devers being placed on the 60-day IL with a core muscle injury he reportedly managed all season, with surgery possibly as early as Tuesday per earlier reporting. Scott Bandura was selected in the corresponding move. The 60-day IL removes a player from the 40-man roster count, which becomes relevant as clubs sort through their September rosters and look ahead to offseason decisions.

What we don't know yet

The most consequential unknown is whether James Click has formally interviewed. MLB Trade Rumors flags that his connection to the search is established, but his interview status is not clear from the reporting. Beyond the three named candidates, the full scope of the A's search remains opaque — the club has had time to speak with others whose names have not entered the public conversation.

No hire has been announced by the club. The preference for completing the process before season's end is attributed to Nightengale's reporting, not to any official club statement, and the precise timeline remains unspecified.

What to watch

The calendar is the pressure point here. If the A's are serious about landing someone before the regular season concludes, the window is short. Watch for any club announcement in the coming days, and for whether additional candidate names surface as the search moves toward a decision. The Rizzo and Owens interviews are reported by Nightengale; everything after that is still in motion.