May Roster Shuffle Could Help The A’s — But They’d Have To Want It
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - MAY 01: Lawrence Butler #4 of the Athletics runs the bases against the Cleveland Guardians in the bottom of the six inning of a major league baseball game at Sutter Health Park on May 01, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) | Getty Images Last season the A’s endured a baffling 1-20 stretch that turned a team that was 2 games over .
500 into one that, by early June, was buried in the AL West. In the post-mortem, A’s GM David Forst expressed regret that the A’s had waited so long to address the bullpen (a huge part of the meltdown) and other flawed areas (Denzel Clarke was summoned on May 23rd to end the JJ Bleday Experience in CF). Fast forward to May, 2026 and the A’s find themselves with a worse record than the 22-20 they held when the über-swoon started but also in a better position in the standings: though only .
500 at 18-18 they stand alone in 1st place in a division mired in mediocrity so far. It won’t last, though. 81 wins is not going to win the AL West or even the 3rd wild card.
The cream will rise and the sludge will fall and it is incumbent upon the A’s not to reprise their role of sludgemasters in May-June 2026. So far they are 1-4 in May, but they don’t have to sit around and do nothing again for too long hoping it isn’t the beginning of a contention-ending skid. Already we have seen some minor signs of the A’s willing to be more proactive.
Jonah Heim has been brought in, presumably to replace Austin “. 077/. 143/.
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