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The Oakland Telegraph
18 November 2026
Quiet offseason expected for A's, but big shake-up coming after 2027 season
By Stan D'Pat, roster contentment correspondent
GM Paulie Beane has assured Oakland fans that it will be a quiet winter at the Coliseum. For the first time in several years, budgetary constraints imposed by owner Ban-ki Rupt will not mean Beane will have to move out one or more higher earners. Rupt has again kept the payroll budget at $150m, but the squad who have just won 108 games and the World Series championship will all be back for another shot at the title in 2027 on an aggregate payroll of $139m.
Unused and unloved reserve pitchers Aaron Sanchez and Lance Roberts both departed to free agency, but that could be the extent of the roster comings and goings for Beane this offseason. The one other change pundits are speculating about is whether Beane looks to promote promising young lefty starting pitcher Nathan Hamilton onto the 25-man roster. The 22-year-old didn't overly impress in 9 starts last year, being sent back to the minors after posting a 6.34 ERA, but he is cheap - always an asset in Oakland for a player seeking game time - and Beane may decide to give him a longer run. Frustration-o-matic machine Johnny Jackson may be the man to make way for Hamilton.
So it is a settled picture for 2027 in Oakland. But watch out, a payroll storm is cooking for 2028. Dennis Hawkins, Roy Ellis, Melvi Salazar, Martin Wilson, and, rather less worryingly, Rich Weaver, are all likely to reach arbitration for 2028, and on current estimates the A's would need a payroll budget of $167m to cover their salaries. There is more chance of the sun exploding than Rupt increasing the budget above the current $150m, so it will be thoroughly shot to pieces. Add into the simmering concoction the fact that key players Rodney Stewart, Josh Morgan, Isael Soto, Ketel Marte, Franyel Casadilla, Bill Williams and, last but not least, Jose Fernandez are all currently on course to be free agents after this year, and you have a major roster reshuffle brewing.
The 2027 A's will look very familiar to fans indeed, and be comprised of 25 guys who have all already won rings at the club. But the 2028 vintage will look rather different. How the club is faring and how individuals are performing over the first two or three months of next season will probably determine who Beane decides to keep and who he'll ship out. Given their performances this past season, everyone expects the A's to be firmly in the playoff mix. But if they're out of contention then there could be roster carnage on the west coast.
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