It’s time Tuesday Teasings once again, and today we look at recently crowned American League Rookie of the Year: Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz. We won’t do our official MLB Awards pieces until December, and honestly, we probably won’t pick Kurtz since he played on a sub-.500 team. But we digress: we want to examine his future, as it should be bright—and it should coincide with the A’s re-emergence in Las Vegas.

First, there is the individual puzzle: his 5.4 WAR was accrued in only 117 games, so that number projects to around 7.5 WAR if he had played a full season. Maybe there is some regression Year 2 for the phenom; maybe there is not. Either way, the Athletics franchise probably can count on another season of 5.0-plus WAR from Kurtz in 2026. Also, his minus-0.4 dWAR could improve if he works on his glove a wee bit, too.

Not every ROTY winner continues their success, of course: we all remember Joe Charboneau. Or maybe we do not, right? We’d like to assume Kurtz will have a stellar career, but anything can happen. However, we’re sure most “experts” feel confident in this guy’s ability to sustain decent production for another decade. After all, he was the No. 4 overall pick in the 2024 draft for a reason: he’s already projected for a .938 OPS in 2026.

Second, it’s all about value with the Athletics front office. They traded All-Star closer Mason Miller in his second full season in 2025, because Miller would be arbitration eligible in 2026—and his cost would skyrocket at a time when the team is not ready to compete for a playoff spot yet, as the team is also limited in its attendance figures while waiting for its Las Vegas facility to open in 2028. It was purely a financial act.

Kurtz won’t eligible for arbitration until 2028, and it’s most likely the A’s will lock him up longterm after a second outstanding season in 2026, thus making his cost-value effect much better for the team’s bottom line in conjunction with the move to Sin City in two more seasons. That is about the time, too, that the club will be ready to compete, legitimately, for AL West Division titles, and the payroll will have to increase (yes).

Third, on that note, the A’s are getting much better. The team won 76 games this season, and it probably will continue to improve on its win total next year, too. The Athletics were 35-29 after the All-Star break, and they also posted a 41-34 record from July 1 onward. When the organization sold off so much talent after the 2021 season, after making the postseason three straight years from 2018-2020, this was always the plan.

It’s the same thing the franchise did after its 1970s success, its 1980s-1990s successes, its 2000s success, and its early 2010s success. Dumb people don’t pay attention to historical cycles and trends, of course, but we do. And it has nothing to do with where the team is playing; this would be happening even if the A’s had managed to find a way to stay in Oakland (against MLB’s wishes, of course). So, the Vegas plan is fortutious.

Thus, Kurtz will end up being one of the franchise faces in Sin City, no doubt, along with burgeoning young talent like left fielder Tyler Soderstrom (4.3 WAR in 2025 at age 23), catcher Shea Langeliers (3.9 at 27), shortstop Jacob Wilson (3.0 at 23), and right fielder Lawrence Butler (1.9 at 24). Sure, the roster still needs a lot of pitching upgrades, but those will come from the farm system or free agency soon enough. Watch.

No, John Fisher won’t sell the team; it won’t return to Oakland. It’s going to be too busy winning in Vegas.