Inside the Athletics Mutually Parting Ways With GM David Forst
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A move that felt inevitable finally came to fruition on Friday.
The Athletics, on August 7, would mutually part ways with General Manager David Forst, after spending the last 27 years with the team, and the last 11 as the GM. With the Athletics struggling badly to end the season, the move would come right on cue. Here is what to make of this situation.
Possible Explanations
There are a few plausible explanations. For one, the Athletics have not been the best baseball team under Forst. In the last 11 seasons as General Manager, the Athletics were only over .500 four times (2018-21), making the playoffs in three of those years. But considering the Athletics have been under .500 for five years in a row, those few seasons of success simply do not hold up.
Another explanation, perhaps the strongest, is that Forst's contract would have expired this offseason. John Fisher and company seemingly preferred to start the new GM hunt early, now that the draft and deadline are behind us.
As mentioned in the previous section, the Athletics' future with Forst was already over. Because of the upcoming move to Vegas, there were signs that Forst would be unwilling to move his family to Sin City. According to reports, "Forst and his family were comfortable in California."
“It was truly an honor to spend the last 27 years with the A’s, especially the last 11 as the GM. This organization is full of incredibly talented, devoted and good people, and I am lucky to have worked alongside them for so long."David Forst
What's Next for the Athletics?
Now that Forst and the franchise have mutually parted ways, the Athletics will turn to Dan Feinstein as interim GM, who was formerly the Athletics' Assistant General Manager. With the deadline and draft behind us, we will more than likely not see many notable moves aside from the occasional waiver wire move from now until the last game of the season.
As for how this will affect the current team? Not much. As mentioned, all the major events throughout the season that require a full-time GM are past us. If this were a matter of Mark Kotsay getting fired/resigning, we would see more explicit changes to this team day to day.
Final Thoughts?
On one hand, it hurts to see a longtime Athletics employee leave the team so suddenly. On the other hand, this move felt nearly inevitable given the factors mentioned above. Losing seasons, contract issues, and the move to Las Vegas all led us to this point.
Ultimately, this move serves as a firm reminder that the Athletics are evolving into a completely different franchise. It feels like a necessary step in a broader culture change. With Vegas nearly upon us, we could see more moves like this one in the near future.
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Andrew Ferguson is the beat writer at Athletics On SI. He is currently pursuing his sports journalism degree from UNLV, striving to turn his lifelong passion for sports into his career.
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