Well the list of potential new GM's for the A's got a little smaller on Saturday morning. Jeff Passan reports that Phillies General Manager Sam Fuld has turned down an offer by the A's to take over the front office, opting to instead remain in Philadelphia where he'll be second fiddle to Philly President Dave Dombrowski:
Fuld was considered one of the stronger candidates to take over the A's operations but evidently he'd prefer to stay put and wait for a different opportunity down the line. It's never a good feeling to see your team rejected like this. The A's apparently made not only the offer of General Manager, but offered the title of President of Baseball Operations. He would have been able to staff out an entire front office to his vision, but evidently the Athletics' job was one that he did not want to take.
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While Fuld is now out of contention, there's a name that is gaining traction, again according to Passan. Red Sox AGM Taylor Smith may now be the option as of now:
Smith began his career with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2018 with their research and development team but was poached by the division-rival Red Sox in 2024, getting the title of assistant GM to Craig Breslow. Over the past couple of years he's been in charge of their analytics department. That Tampa organization really does pump out staffers to other organizations at an incredible rate, and Smith was among those that was highly regarded and viewed as a future GM, even by the Red Sox. He has been one of several lieutenants for the former A's reliever-turned-GM in their collaborative front office approach.
He wouldn't have anyone else to report to if he does end up getting the A's job since the Passan report indicates he'd be given the President title. That'd mean he'd have free reign to shape the team as he sees fit and hire who he wants to staff his front office. Presumably the first order of business will be to address the pitching, or lack thereof. That'll be the top priority for whoever
the A's select but Smith seems like as good as any candidate to bring in fresh outside ideas into the organization, something the organization could certainly use. He's a bit on the younger side in his early 30's (there's no public information on his exact age), and he doesn't have the most experience, but if the A's feel he's their guy then what are we waiting for?
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And one more tidbit from Passan is that St. Louis AGM Rob Cerfolio is likely to remain with the Cardinals. That's not especially surprising considering what's going on over there. Chaim Bloom is ascending to President, meaning that Cerfolio will get his own promotion to GM. He'll still be the second-in-command but that was always expected.
The wait to find out who will be the next voice of the Athletics' front office seems to be winding down. We should hopefully know the choice by the end of the weekend, or at the latest early next week. Who do you guys want to be the selection?
