Taylor Smith named Athletics President of Baseball Operations

What happened

The Athletics have named Taylor Smith as their new President of Baseball Operations, MLB.com's Martín Gallegos reported. Smith, who previously served as an assistant general manager with the Boston Red Sox, steps into the organization's top baseball decision-making role following David Forst's departure in August.

The club introduced Smith formally, and per the newsroom's coverage of that introduction, he expressed enthusiasm for building around the team's young core. The hire fills a vacancy that had been open since Forst left, leaving the Athletics without a permanent head of baseball operations for a stretch of the season's final months.

Why it matters

Taking over baseball operations for the Athletics in 2026 is not a job that comes with a lot of runway already cleared. The club finished 64-98 — a .395 winning percentage — fourth in the AL West and 17 games back of the division lead, eliminated from both the division race and the Wild Card race. Smith is not inheriting a machine in motion; he is inheriting a project, and the introduction made clear he understands that framing.

The timing of the hire, coming in the days following the end of the regular season, gives Smith a full offseason to put his fingerprints on the roster before spring training. That matters operationally: the Rule 5 draft, 40-man roster decisions, free agency, and any trade conversations will all fall under his purview from the start. There is no grace period built into the calendar.

What Smith brings from his time in Boston — specifically what organizational philosophies, analytical frameworks, or front-office relationships he carries over — has not been detailed in the reporting. What has been reported is the title, the predecessor, and the enthusiasm at the podium. The rest is still being written.

The numbers

The Athletics' 64-98 record tells most of the story about the environment Smith is walking into. The club ranked 11th in the Wild Card standings, sitting 20.0 games relative to the cut line — a number that does not invite much ambiguity about where the organization stands in the competitive cycle. They closed the season on a two-game losing streak, which is a minor footnote against the larger backdrop of the full campaign.

Fourth place in the AL West, 17 games back, is the kind of standing that reframes what "building around the young core" actually means in practice. It is not a slogan; it is a structural description of the only viable path forward. Smith's introduction, per the reporting, acknowledged as much.

Where the club stands

The Athletics finished 64-98 (.395), fourth in the AL West, 17 games back of the division leader. They were eliminated from both the division race and the Wild Card race before the season ended, and they enter the offseason on a two-game losing streak that will be quickly forgotten in favor of the larger questions ahead.

The competitive picture is clear enough: this is a rebuild, and the front office structure that will manage it is now taking shape. Manager Mark Kotsay is under contract through 2028, per the newsroom's reporting, which provides at least one fixed point of continuity as Smith assembles his staff and sets his priorities.

Is there a general manager beneath Smith?

That question is still open. Per the newsroom's reporting from earlier this week, the Athletics are considering adding a general manager beneath Smith in the organizational structure — but no such hire had been announced as of the coverage reviewed here. Smith would operate as the top baseball executive either way; the question is whether he will have a deputy handling the transactional layer of roster operations or whether that position remains to be filled.

The distinction matters practically. A president of baseball operations who also functions as his own general manager carries a different workload than one who delegates the transactional machinery downward. Given the volume of decisions an offseason rebuild demands — 40-man construction, Rule 5 exposure, free-agent targeting, trade conversations — the answer to that structural question will shape how quickly Smith can move and how the front office divides its labor.

What we don't know yet

The reporting establishes the hire and the title. It does not detail Smith's specific priorities beyond the broad framing of building around the young core, nor does it outline a timeline for any additional front-office hires. Whether a general manager will be added beneath him, and who that might be, remains unresolved per the available reporting.

Smith's specific background at the Red Sox — what roles he held, what decisions he was involved in, what relationships he brings to the table — has not been detailed in the material reported here. The Athletics announced the hire; the fuller biography is still being filled in.

It is also worth noting that the offseason calendar does not wait for organizational charts to be finalized. The Rule 5 draft, free agency, and 40-man roster decisions will arrive on their own schedule regardless of whether Smith has a complete staff in place. How he navigates that compressed timeline will be among the first observable data points of his tenure.

What to watch

The most immediate question is whether the Athletics move to hire a general manager beneath Smith, and how quickly that process moves. Per the newsroom's reporting, the organization is at least considering the addition — but considering and announcing are different things, and the offseason clock is already moving.

Beyond the structural question, the 40-man roster decisions ahead of the Rule 5 draft will offer the first concrete look at how Smith's front office thinks about player development and protection. Those choices are low-profile by the standards of a major free-agent signing, but they are often where organizational philosophy becomes visible in practice.

Manager Mark Kotsay's security through 2028, per the reporting, removes one variable from the equation. The coaching staff, the roster construction philosophy, and the pace of the rebuild are the open questions Smith now owns. The Athletics introduced him with enthusiasm. The offseason will introduce him to the work.