Athletics bet on youth with 31-year-old Taylor Smith to lead baseball operations

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Saying “the world is run by 31-year-olds today,” Athletics owner John Fisher hired as his president of baseball operations someone he hopes continues the organization’s rich history with analytics but also brings new ideas about where the sport could be headed.

Taylor Smith’s meteoric rise — seven years with the Tampa Bay Rays and the past two seasons with the Boston Red Sox — got Fisher’s attention as he tries to lead the A’s back into contention and build momentum for a scheduled move to Las Vegas in 2028.

Smith is the youngest person in his role for a major league team, surpassing 36-year-old Paul Toboni in Washington.

“You look at so many technology companies and so many companies that have been created, and they’re all being created by kids,” Fisher said Wednesday. “There is something that is very empowering about somebody coming in who is young, energized. I thought that he described it really well. He wants to make sure he knows what he doesn’t know that he doesn’t know.

“The fact that he hasn’t done all of these things before, that gives us a lot of confidence that he’s going to be trying new things. Some of them won’t work, a lot of them will, and he’s going to learn and continue to get better.”

Fisher might not be finished with changes to the front office, calling it “a definite possibility” he still hires a general manager, the spot David Forst held until two months ago when he and the A’s parted ways. Forst had been GM since 2015 and with the organization since 2000.

The Athletics went 64-98 this year with a young team in its second season playing home games at a Triple-A ballpark in West Sacramento, California. Assistant general manager Dan Feinstein finished the season as interim GM.

“Taylor is someone who stood out to us from the very beginning of our discussions,” Fisher said. “We had a very thorough search process. Talked to talented people from lots of different teams all across the country. Taylor really stood out for his brilliance, his understanding of the game, of what it takes to make a good player a great player, and we think that he is going to be able to do the kind of necessary things to make our very, very good team into a great team.”

Fisher said he went outside the building for this position for the first time in more than 70 years, though he said he considered internal candidates.

Smith oversaw the Red Sox research department that included analytics. He also had a big role in player personnel.

The A’s could especially use help with their pitching staff, which produced a 5.51 ERA that was second-worst to Colorado’s 5.59. It didn’t help that home games were played in a hitter-friendly ballpark, and Smith noted the team has some promising arms, including Jack Perkins, Gage Jump, Jacob Lopez and J.T. Ginn.

“I think the pitching was a little unlucky last year in some of the outcomes of ball in play,” Smith said. “I think it’s a staff that will progress this year. In general, I think acquiring pitching is still something where you can be very opportunistic across the league.”

As for the everyday lineup, Smith can build around young players Nick Kurtz, Jacob Wilson, Tyler Soderstrom and Lawrence Butler along with veteran Brent Rooker.

“I think it starts with the exciting young core,” Smith said. “I think that makes it a really compelling opportunity. But when you partner that with the move to the new city, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that could be to work for a team as it moves into a new home, I think that just made it a very compelling opportunity.”

A’s manager Mark Kotsay, who has a home in the Las Vegas area, said he and Smith were going to discuss their plans over dinner Tuesday night.

Kotsay said he has some immediate priorities he wants to address. Those include filling out his coaching staff after dismissing hitting coach Chris Cron and quality control coach Marcus Jensen, improving player development and upgrading the pitching depth.

“We always talk about change, and some people have a hard time with it, obviously,” Kotsay said. “It’s difficult when it happens in the moment. I think the further you get away from it, you recognize that change can be a great thing and it can lead to a lot of success. So we’re excited about Taylor coming here, what he brings with him. I’m excited to get to start to build a relationship with him.”

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