The A’s appear to be staying in-house when it comes to Bob Melvin’s successor. According to Audacy Sports MLB Insider Jon Heyman, the A’s have promoted third-base coach Mark Kotsay to be their next manager. The franchise is yet to confirm the move.
Kotsay served under Melvin as a bench coach from 2016-17, quality control coach from 2018-20 and spent the 2021 season as a third-base coach. Kotsay emerged as a logical front-runner in the hiring process after former A’s bench coach Ryan Christenson followed Melvin to the San Diego Padres. Going in-house on the cheap was probably the A’s path to least resistance this offseason.
The A’s likely are looking to shave payroll everywhere – hence the decision to let Melvin and his $4 million leave this offseason. The 46-year-old Kotsay can hit the ground running with his familiarity within the organization, as Oakland is a different beast with its annual salary constraints and heavy front-office influence. He probably won’t break the bank given this is his first managerial gig.
Kotsay played four seasons (2004-07) of his 17-year MLB career with the A’s and was a solid center fielder in his heyday. The former big leaguer beat out other reported candidates including Tampa Bay Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro, Houston Astros bench coach Joe Espada, A’s bullpen coach Marcus Jensen and A’s hitting coach Darren Bush. Oakland was the lone team in MLB without a manager following the New York Mets’ hire of Buck Showalter on Saturday.
Kotsay could provide a big sense of continuity for the clubhouse, though it might not matter much with the amount of roster turnover that could be on the horizon. Star players like Matt Olson, Matt Chapman, Chris Bassitt, Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas are reportedly all on the trading block this winter for the cost-cutting A’s.
Kotsay isn’t a rah-rah type of guy but is known for his work ethic and no-nonsense type of attitude. It’s a relatively low-profile MLB manager job and the A’s might have low expectations by the time opening day rolls around next year, if the team enters a rebuild as expected.
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It’s not a splashy hire, but one that makes a lot of sense. Kotsay knows the organization on an intimate level and vice-versa, so he probably won’t be shocked by any personnel changes that happen this offseason. He also reportedly was considered for previous managerial openings with the Boston Red Sox, Houston Astros, Detroit Tigers and San Francisco Giants – so he clearly has a strong reputation within the baseball community.
Kotsay will have his work cut out for him in 2022. The American League West will be star-studded, as the Texas Rangers (Marcus Semien and Corey Seager), Seattle Mariners (Robbie Ray) and Los Angeles Angels (Noah Syndergaard) each added big-time free agents.
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