The Athletics have handed their baseball operation to Taylor Smith, a 31-year-old executive with roots in the Rays and Red Sox organizations, as the club works toward a return to contention and its planned 2028 move to Las Vegas.
Smith was named president of baseball operations on Monday after spending the past two seasons as Boston’s senior vice president and assistant general manager. He will direct the A’s roster-building plan, player-development operation and broader baseball strategy at a pivotal stretch for the franchise.
A new voice over the baseball department
Owner John Fisher said Smith emerged from an extensive search as the organization’s choice to lead its baseball side. Fisher pointed to Smith’s evaluation background and his work in player development as central qualifications for the assignment.
The owner also cited a young returning group that includes Nick Kurtz, Brent Rooker, Shea Langeliers, Lawrence Butler, Tyler Soderstrom, Jacob Wilson and Henry Bolte. Fisher said the club believes that core, along with its farm system, gives Smith material to shape into a team capable of winning on a regular basis.
The hire follows a difficult 2026 season in which the A’s went 64-98, a 12-win drop from the prior year. It was the club’s fifth straight losing campaign.
Smith’s path from Tampa Bay to Boston
Before joining the Red Sox in 2024, Smith spent seven seasons in Tampa Bay’s research and development department. His Boston responsibilities covered baseball research and development, including analytics, sciences, systems and technology. He also worked across the organization with the player-acquisition, player-development and baseball-operations staffs.
A Woodstock, Georgia, native, Smith attended the University of Georgia. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in statistics as well as a bachelor’s degree in mathematics.
Smith called the opportunity a special one because the Athletics’ Moneyball-era work influenced the way clubs approached team construction and helped open his own path into the sport. He said he intends to honor that history while helping establish the club’s next successful era before the move to Las Vegas.
Senior advisor Billy Beane welcomed Smith as a creative and forward-thinking baseball executive, saying he has the leadership tools to build a modern organization that can make its fans proud over the long haul.
Questions remain beneath Smith
The appointment comes after the Athletics dismissed general manager David Forst on Aug. 7, bringing his 11-year run in that role to a close. Assistant general manager Dan Feinstein was installed as interim GM at that time.
It remains unsettled whether Smith will bring in a general manager to work beneath him. The status of Feinstein and longtime assistant general managers Billy Owens and Rob Naberhaus has not been determined. Owens interviewed for the president of baseball operations job, while all three could remain in their current posts or shift into other front-office roles.
For now, Smith inherits an organization with promising young players, a rebuilding record to correct and a fast-approaching new chapter in Las Vegas. The next decisions on the front-office ladder will show how fully he intends to reshape the club.
