The Athletics announced Monday that Taylor Smith will serve as the club’s new president of baseball operations. Smith comes to Oakland after two seasons as assistant general manager with the Boston Red Sox and seven seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays.
Owner John Fisher said, “I couldn’t be more excited about Taylor as our President of Baseball Operations. He is one of the brightest minds in the game today. We conducted a very thorough search for our new baseball leadership, and Taylor stood out for his acute understanding of the game, especially in the areas of measuring player performance and player development.”
Oakland finished the 2026 season 64‑98, fourth in the American League West and 17 games behind division champion Houston Astros, as the franchise looks ahead to its relocation to Las Vegas in 2028 when a new ballpark on the Strip is slated to open.
Construction on the $2.1 billion stadium, which began in June 2025, reached a new milestone with the completion of the third steel‑truss arch, the tallest point of the project, and the team has already sold roughly 300 Athletic Club season tickets, more than three‑quarters of which were purchased by Southern Nevada residents.
Sources: Las Vegas Review-Journal
Original reporting: Las Vegas Review-Journal →
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