What A's Spring Training Lineup Adjustments Tell Us to Expect Opening Day
In this story:
The A's have been signaling their plans for the season all spring, but they may have provided their biggest indication of what their Opening Day lineup could be on Friday. The club played split-squad games against the Brewers and Padres, with their lineups split between the prospect and bench-laden roster that went off to face Milwaukee, while the starters stayed home to take on San Diego.
— Jason Burke (@ByJasonB) March 13, 2026
That lineup on the right could end up being fairly close to what we see the A's deploy in Toronto for Opening Day, with some minor adjustments.
The lineup on the left had potentially two players in there that could end up on the A's 26-man roster when the season begins, with Andy Ibáñez seen as a key utility bat for the team, and Colby Thomas potentially being a platoon partner in the outfield with Lawrence Butler in right.
Minor tweaks for Opening Day
Manager Mark Kotsay has been rolling with Nick Kurtz at the top of the lineup consistently, despite many fans not necessarily agreeing with the strategy. Given that he continues to be placed up there, that appears to be what the team's plan is for the beginning of the season at the very least. He's an on-base machine that can also get his team out to a quick 1-0 lead while leading off.
The pushback has been that he's also the biggest power bat in the lineup, and putting him behind some of the other big bats in the order may lead to more runs over the course of the season. The impact on the offense overall will be something to keep an eye on over the course of the season.
Behind him was Shea Langeliers, who occupied the two-hole behind Kurtz for a lot of the second half of the 2025 campaign. Tyler Soderstrom, Brent Rooker and Jacob Wilson line up behind him, giving the A's a pretty impressive top five.
Jeff McNeil has been placed at the leadoff spot at times this spring, but has generally been in the second half of the lineup throughout camp. When he has been batting leadoff, those have been on days where Kurtz is not in the lineup.
It'll be interesting to see if the A's end up rolling with McNeil and Wilson back-to-back since they have similar profiles as high contact bats. We'll have to see how that strategy works out, but it could be better to space them out at least a little bit.
Perhaps they could move Max Muncy in between them, especially if he's hitting like he has been recently. We could also see Muncy slide down another spot in the lineup when Lawrence Butler is in there, so it's McNeil hitting fifth, then Wilson sixth, Butler hitting seventh, Muncy eighth, and then Denzel Clarke rounding things out.
This would keep the order switching between right-handers and left-handers nearly the entire lineup, with the only back-to-back righties being in the eighth and ninth spots. There are a lot of ways the lineup could play out this season, but this appears to be how they're going to start the season.
For more A's news and insights, follow Jason @ByJasonB on X, or the site @InsideTheAs!
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.
Follow byjasonb