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

The Athletics have interviewed Mike Rizzo and Billy Owens for their full-time general manager vacancy, per USA Today's Bob Nightengale, as relayed by MLB Trade Rumors' Mark Polishuk. The two join James Click as the only candidates publicly linked to the position, though per the report it remains unclear whether Click has actually sat down for a formal interview.

What happened

According to Nightengale, as relayed by Polishuk, the A's "would like to make their hire before the season's conclusion," which suggests an announcement could arrive in the coming weeks. The vacancy opened a little over a month ago when former GM David Forst was let go. The report notes that the A's have had ample time to speak with candidates beyond the three names currently in public circulation — meaning the eventual hire could be someone not yet attached to the search in any public reporting.

Rizzo is the most decorated name in the mix. The 65-year-old built his scouting foundation across stints with the White Sox, Red Sox, and Diamondbacks before joining Washington's front office as an assistant GM midway through the 2006 season. When GM Jim Bowden resigned just before the start of the 2009 campaign, Rizzo was elevated to interim GM and then given the full-time role before the year was out. What followed was a 17-year run at the top of Washington's baseball operations.

Owens, by contrast, would be a first-time GM. Per the report, 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 — a career arc that makes him the institutional continuity candidate in a search that also includes two executives who built their reputations elsewhere.

Why it matters

The GM search is the most consequential front-office decision the Athletics have made in some time, and the profile of the candidates reflects the fork in the road the organization faces. Rizzo brings a World Series ring — the 2019 Nationals title — and a long track record of building rosters through the draft, international scouting, and high-profile trades and signings. Click also carries a World Series credential. Owens brings something different: institutional knowledge of an organization that has been in transition, and decades of continuity with the people and systems already in place.

Rizzo's tenure in Washington produced four NL East titles and winning records every year from 2012 through 2019, with homegrown players including Bryce Harper, Stephen Strasburg, and Anthony Rendon — all drafted under his watch — forming the core of those clubs. He also added Max Scherzer and Trea Turner via trades and signings, and Juan Soto emerged as the crown jewel of Washington's international scouting operation on his watch. That is a genuinely impressive body of work, and the A's would not be interviewing him if the résumé stopped there.

The back half of Rizzo's tenure, however, was considerably harder. The Nationals have not posted a winning record since 2019. Per the report, rebuilding efforts including the blockbuster Soto trade in 2022 brought new talent into the organization, but a lack of draft success left Washington still searching for traction. An 11-game losing streak in June 2025 reportedly proved to be the breaking point, and per the report Rizzo and manager Davey Martinez each received their walking papers a week into July 2025. That context — a decorated executive whose most recent chapter ended in a difficult rebuild — is presumably part of what the A's are weighing as they evaluate the full picture.

The question of what kind of executive the A's want is, in some ways, the question of what kind of organization they intend to become. Owens represents continuity and institutional memory. Rizzo and Click represent outside credibility and championship pedigree. None of those things are mutually exclusive, but they do tend to point toward different organizational philosophies, and the hire will signal something about which direction the club is leaning.

What we don't know yet

The report does not specify how many total candidates the A's have interviewed, only that Rizzo, Owens, and Click are the publicly known names. It is also not clear whether Click has formally interviewed or simply been linked to the position. No timeline beyond "before the season's conclusion" has been reported, and no preferred candidate has been identified in the reporting.

The scope of the new GM's authority — whether the hire will carry a traditional GM title with full roster control, or operate within a structure that includes other senior voices — has not been addressed in the reporting. That distinction matters considerably for any executive weighing whether to take the job, and for any observer trying to understand what the hire will actually mean in practice.

Where the club stands

The A's GM search is unfolding in the final weeks of a season that will give the incoming executive a clear-eyed view of the task ahead. The San Francisco Giants, whose upcoming schedule includes Sunday's home game against the San Diego Padres at Oracle Park with Logan Webb on the mound, sit at 62-87 (.416) — fourth in the NL West, 28.5 games back in the division, and eliminated from both the division race and the Wild Card race. They have dropped their last two.

For the A's, the search itself is the story right now. The roster and standings context will be the new GM's inheritance, not their résumé — and whoever takes the job will arrive with an offseason, a Rule 5 draft, and a free-agent market waiting on the other side of the final out.

What to watch

The most immediate question is whether the A's move quickly enough to name a GM before the regular season concludes, as Nightengale's report suggests they intend to do. If that timeline holds, the hire would come while the current roster is still in the field — an unusual backdrop for an introduction press conference, but one that would give the new executive a running start on offseason planning.

Worth watching as well: whether any additional candidates surface publicly before an announcement. The report is careful to note that the A's have had time to speak with multiple people beyond the three known names. The desk will update as Nightengale or Polishuk report further developments.