As a stunning 2018 campaign drew to a close, it emerged that — rather unsurprisingly — the Athletics intended to pursue a new contract with manager Bob Melvin. But we had yet to really hear anything firm on the outlook for executive VP of baseball operations Billy Beane and GM David Forst since some mid-season questions arose.
The latest indication is that all three are working on new contracts that could be announced in a coordinated fashion. Julian McWilliams of The Athletic reports (subscription links) that a deal with Melvin is all but a foregone conclusion, with “similar extensions” for the front office duo “being hashed out as well.”
It is not yet clear what kind of term of years might be anticipated, or whether all three will end up on similar timelines. At present, Melvin, Beane, and Forst are each under contract through the 2019 season, but they reached that common terminus through different paths.
In Melvin’s case, he has inked a series of short-term arrangements. Most recently, he and the club agreed to tack on the 2019 season as the 2017 campaign drew to a close. Beane is wrapping up a five-year deal that he agreed to way back in February of 2012. It’s not entirely clear how Forst’s contract situation has been handled, but it seems reasonable to presume that he is also working on a long-term deal — perhaps dating back to the point that he was promoted in the fall of 2015.
If all three leaders are indeed extended, they’ll be tasked with overseeing what is hoped to be quite an exciting period in franchise history. The A’s have their work cut out if they are to repeat their 97-win campaign, but certainly have an impressive core of young talent to build around now and for some time to come. Meanwhile, upper management will hope that the on-field excitement helps drive the organization’s efforts to line up a new ballpark and open other revenue sources.
This is going to be interesting to see what happens on ownership stand point more than anything else. They are pretty much in win mode right now! Even if they get a new stadium site by the end of the year that’s going to be 4 years down the road! Let’s see how this plays out…..
Ownership isn’t changing. Regardless of what people think, John Fisher is very capable of getting a new ballpark built just about anywhere, he just needed to be the one overseeing the management of the team, not some old guy who refused to get on their knees to get what they need.
John Fisher is going to stay the majority owner. I don’t see that changing until Lew Wolff’s son is ready to buy stakes of the team.
Very capable probably right. But how bad he wants it is the question? He’s had the team for at least a decade and all he’s done is drag his feet!
Of course is going to stay majority owner all he’s doing is cashing in ever year! Who knows even if he’d sell stakes?
He hasn’t drug his feet. Wolff was the one doing the dragging, because he thought he could get it done without having to get his hands dirty.
Nothing in the Fisher history suggests that the A’s Stadium situation will be figured out unless public land is handed to the Fisher family for free to lord over and profit from.
Completely untrue. Avaya Stadium was handled by Fisher and Kaval, and that was done without public funds. Yes, it was a much smaller project, but soccer is also much smaller in the United States than baseball.
Fisher has actually had a few successful projects outside of sports that haven’t required public funds, but please, keep talking out of your ass. He’s an investor, he’ll invest when it makes sense to.
All three are outstanding love for them to jump across bay and retool Giants but that ain’t happening, Oakland gets new facility life will change….
Why are all you Giants fans so obsessed with the A’s front office migrating across the Bay? It ain’t happening. Your glory days over. Accept it.
that’s a bit much. with the payroll the Giants have, doesn’t take long for glory days to come back around
But they spent more this offseason than they had in any offseason preceding a world series championship and came up about 20 wins short.
Isn’t Beane a minority owner? I guess that doesn’t guarantee him a role in day-to-day
Won’t the A’s & city of Oakland just tear down the current stadium when the Raiders leave & build a new ballpark in that spot?
It’s complicated…..
And where do the A’s play while they tear down the O.Co and build the new ballpark?
AT&T….the Giants would complain but the other owners would vote for it to happen. Best for the game of baseball.
Obviously a while ago but the Yankees played at Shea in ’73 & ’74 while Yankee Stadium was being refurbished.
Brewers did this when Miller Park was built. O.Co has ample parking space like old Milwaukee County Stadium did, and they just closed one of the lots and built there. When Miller Park opened, County Stadium was demolished and most of the parking was replaced.
I’m a huge fan of doing this in C or D lot, where you would have a ton of potential advertising space on the west side of the ballpark facing 880.
Oh, rad, Bob Melvin has been absolutely worthless in 4 postseason attempts and been massively outmanaged in each series – this year by a rookie – why was Melvin benching Khris Davis in the last week when the WC home game was on the line again? Oh yeah, he’s actually kind of clueless and has only ever won when his talented squad couldn’t lose.
Dumb move by the A’s – Ryan Christenson (success at every minor league level) is the future, Melvin is a career .500 manager who can’t win in October.
You’re not in the dugout or clubhouse with these guys 6-7 months a year. Stop acting like you know what’s going on.
Stop making yourself look dumb and start acting like a real A’s fan – A’s fans are supposed to be ahead of the curve not behind it
Well if Justin-Turner is an A’s fan then I would say its more like behind the curve
I’m not an A’s fan, I’ve just made my living watching every single one of their games over the last couple years. I know the team better than any silly homer ever will.
***thirty seconds of fart noises***
FTFY
That is one hell of a screen name though, my dude.
thanks!
The Dodgers can’t even win when their roster can’t lose. Your preoccupation with bashing Bob Melvin is hilarious when guys like Dave Roberts and Mike Scioscia have had long managerial careers.
Im not a Dodgers fan dummy
Didn’t say you were. Perhaps the 30 seconds of fart noise made that hard to comprehend.
You’re ignoring how the A’s have operated. It’s not one guy making decisions, it’s guys checking each other at every step of the way. Billy and David work together and BoMel and Christenson work together. It’s a sound strategy. Just don’t let the bench coach go.
So he just benched Davis for no reason? How do you know that? I
Sept 25 vs Seattle, A’s lost 8-10 to Mariners, Davis did not play and was not injured – Melvin just thought he had to rest all his players, even his DH – who absolutely did not need to rest. Melvin absolutely sucks and the A’s will absolutely never EVER win with him as manager and the faster they realize this and pivot to the guy who wins every time he’s the leader, the faster they will get that chip
Ah, so you heard from Davis and Melvin that there was no reason to bench him and Davis didn’t need any rest? Or are you just guessing this?
“Davis did not play and was not injured – Melvin just thought he had to rest all his players, even his DH – who absolutely did not need to rest.”….as they say in wikipediaese…citation needed
You claim Davis “absolutely did not need rest”. Who the heck are you to make that statement. You know that is an absolute but the manager who is with Davis every day for 7 months that manager had no idea?
Sounds like you do not have any reason to know why a player was given a day off. And the A’s lost 10-8 not 8-10
Sorry to offend you, crybaby Bob Melvin superfan, but I knew for a FACT that Davis needed no rest. Look, Davis was mashing all Sept long and Melvin just got it in his head to rest as many regulars as possible in the last couple weeks, TOTALLY IGNORING that he could have won the WC home field if he knew how to manage in a pennant race.
“And the A’s lost 10-8 not 8-10” lmao both are actually acceptable, wise guy.
Melvin provided no reason other than “Im resting my regulars in the last weeks to “prepare” for the postseason.” – yeah and doing that caused them to get bounced, again.
Look Melvin’s record speaks for itself: he’s a career .500 manager, he isn’t the guy. He has no big postseason wins, ever, and he’s been in the game a long time now. Bad move for the A’s to keep him around. They simple aren’t going to win a title with him.
Outmanaged by a rookie? Hey buddy, the A’s just didn’t get it done. They went 0-6 with RISP and left 9 men on base and were shaky on the mound. In no way, shape, or form is that Melvin’s fault.
Also, in both 2012 and 2013 the A’s put up good fights in the DS, but let’s be honest, they didn’t have the pitching staff to match the Tigers. Justin Verlander was otherworldly in 4 starts against the A’s in those series’. Lastly, 2014 was a Wild Card game, and anyone with a brain understands that a one game playoff is a crap-shoot.
Anyone with half a brain could tell you 2 weeks into September that we weren’t going to look good in any playoff game we played in October. We were still putting up gaudy numbers, but there were holes that were more apparent in September then there had been in the 2 previous months. Jed Lowrie completely fell apart, and some of the guys we had come to rely on like Canha just weren’t making the solid contact they had been.
There’s a lot to be happy about here with how guys like Chapman and Olson performed in the second half, but we won’t be anything until 2020 when all of that pitching we’ve been collecting starts getting healthy and recovering from TJS.
That said, the Red Sox and Dodgers are making me feel a lot better, because they’re hitting about as well as we did in September.
Great decision! Sometime you have to have continuity regardless… Beane along with Frost and Melvin are just the right people to bring a championship back to the Bay Area and the city of Oakland…
But are they? All solid baseball men. But they have had plenty of time and have not gotten the job done. Perhaps its the situation in Oakland that cannot be overcome?
Or maybe it’s that they never really went through with a rebuild to get themselves the resources they needed. When you keep trading prospects away instead of trying to build an actual core you end up very thinned in terms of your main resource.
Why does everyone act like the A’s are the only team that doesn’t get it done in the postseason? Hell, look at how many times the Dodgers, who might I add have consistently had much more expensive/talented rosters than the A’s, have played in October and haven’t won it all [yet]. The Nationals? You get the point. I’ll take at least getting to the postseason any day, even if it means losing, than no postseason at all.
The more chances you get the more people criticize you for it. It’s a pretty awkward take, especially when you consider how many teams would love to has as many chances as the A’s in the postseason.