LAS VEGAS -- What is a quick visit for 29 other MLB front office contingents in town for this week’s GM Meetings is more like a home game for Athletics president of baseball operations Taylor Smith and general manager Cam Castro.
Smith and Castro have remained in Las Vegas -- set to become the new home city of the A’s in 2028 -- since coming on board. In fact, the Aria Resort and Casino, host venue for this year’s meetings, has become home base for Castro following his hiring as GM last week.
“At some point,” Castro said with a laugh. “I need to get back [to Wisconsin] to see the people in my actual own house.”
There has been little time to rest for the A’s new front office duo. With agents, other front office members and even some players all under one roof, this is a key time for Smith and Castro to address the club’s needs, both on the field and within the organization.
“We brought Cam in, which was a very big item on the to-do list,” Smith said. “There’s still a lot of hiring to do. … Thinking through roster decisions, we had to make the first wave of those while also developing some of our strategies for the offseason. Part of it is just getting to know a bunch of people, which takes a lot of time and energy just connecting with everyone.”
Activity will surely pick up in the coming weeks, but Smith already has his first notable, albeit minor, move under his belt. That took place on Oct. 29, when the A’s acquired outfielder Nate Eaton from the Red Sox in exchange for Minor League right-hander Jareth Rayo.
Perhaps uncoincidentally, Smith’s first trade was struck with the same Boston front office he was a part of over the previous two seasons, working under chief baseball officer Craig Breslow.
“It’s easy to make trades with people you know, especially when you have a shared understanding of the player and their roster situation,” said Smith, who lauded Eaton for his exceptional defense and strong baserunning. “It’s easy to come to an agreement on that when you are operating on a lot of the same information and context there.”
For Castro, most of his conversations this week have centered around hiring new people to supplement the front office and player development staff that remains in place, as well as filling vacant roles. One important unresolved role is that of Minor League pitching coordinator, which has been without a full-time figure since Barry Enright left the organization in June 2026.
As a former pitching coordinator himself during his time with the Brewers, Castro knows the importance of such a hire for an organization in need of improvements in the pitching department across the board.
“It can be a really impactful role,” Castro said. “We have to do the very best that we can to get the best people, arm them with the best stuff and do the best for the players that we can, because you never know who you’re going to have to turn to on any given night. … The pitching stuff and pitching development is certainly a focus. I’m looking for great people to come in and join this group.”
On the subject of pitching, presumably what most thought the A’s would target heading into the offseason, Smith said he doesn’t necessarily see the club’s pitching situation as dire as it might seem to others. He pointed out that while Sutter Health Park -- the team’s home for one more season before relocating to Las Vegas -- is a hitter-friendly ballpark where runs will always be scored at a higher rate, the numbers suggested that the A’s pitching staff as a whole performed close to league average on the road.
There were also some “bad luck” numbers that led Smith to believe that the A’s rotation -- which, as of now, is projected to include Luis Severino, J.T. Ginn, Jacob Lopez, Gage Jump and Jack Perkins -- is in line for a much better 2027.
“I think some of the narratives on the pitching side get slightly blown out of proportion,” Smith said. “There’s a lot of opportunity for guys to take a step forward. Some of it was that some guys were just a little unlucky on batted-ball luck and things like that last year. That was something that really stood out to me as I was going through the process. It was like, ‘Man, everyone talks about the position players. But some of these young arms like Perkins and Jump are really exciting.’”