A's Add Washington Nationals Fan Favorite in Surprise Move
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This has been a big week for A's first basemen, as Nick Kurtz was named the AL Rookie of the Year, as well as being named to the All-MLB Second Team. Last week he was named the Silver Slugger at first base. The Athletics have reportedly added some depth at first base, according to Francys Romero, who is reporting that the team has signed Joey Meneses to a minor-league deal.
He was most recently with the New York Mets in 2025, though he didn't reach the big leagues with them, as the big-league roster also had Pete Alonso entrenched at the top of the pecking order. Kurtz is similarly entrenched, which makes a first base signing an odd fit for both the A's and Meneses this early in the offseason. The only other free agent signing the A's have made is reliever Nick Anderson.
In his age-33 season, Meneses played in 110 games and hit .265 with a .322 OBP, 11 home runs, 55 RBI and a 98 wRC+ (100 is league average) in Triple-A.
One interesting tidbit is that while he has mostly played first base and DH in recent seasons, in 18 games in the Mexican Pacific Winter League this offseason, he has already racked up five games in left field. Perhaps this signing is less about adding a veteran first base option and more about building up depth at both first and left.
The A's have Kurtz at first, and Gold Glove finalist Tyler Soderstrom in left, who is also the team's backup at first base just in case. This addition seems to build up some insurance in that pipeline.
Meneses has spent three seasons in the big leagues, all with the Washington Nationals, and has batted .274 with a .322 OBP in his career.
He's most well known for being the main beneficiary of the original Juan Soto trade back in 2022. He was called up for his big-league debut in August, at the age of 30, and ended up hitting .324 with a .367 OBP and 13 home runs in 56 games, putting up a 158 wRC+.
For regular listeners of the Effectively Wild podcast, you may remember Ben Lindbergh reacting to Meneses' walk-off three-run homer in extra innings against the A's in Ken Waldichuk's big-league debut. That reaction is now used at different parts of the podcast, so A's fans can relieve that moment over and over.
Meneses went 7-for-15 in that series with three doubles, a home run and six RBI, but he was a menace to anyone throwing him baseballs that season.
Right now, it doesn't appear as though this signing will have a huge impact on the A's roster construction come Opening Day, but he does have a little track record of getting blindingly hot and should be a solid veteran for a franchise that could use some.
Perhaps he gets some play as a fourth outfielder type if the A's aren't seeing what they want from Colby Thomas (also a right-handed bat) in the spring.
Jason has been covering the A’s at various sites for over a decade, and was the original host of the Locked on A’s podcast. He also covers the Stanford Cardinal as they attempt to rebuild numerous programs to prominence.
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