By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher-Writer
LAS VEGAS, Nevada — The Athletics have hired 31-year-old Taylor Smith, who has worked for the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays, to lead the MLB team’s baseball operations and front office.
The A’s said Monday Smith is the new president of baseball operations. During the 2026 season, the A’s said their general manager, David Forst, was no longer part of the team after the Athletics lost 32 of 39 games and fell out of postseason contention.
Smith was the former senior vice president/assistant general manager of the Red Sox for the past two seasons.
Now Smith’s charge: run the A’s baseball strategy and operations in preparation for the team’s relocation to Las Vegas in 2028.
“I couldn’t be more excited about Taylor as our president of baseball operations,” A’s owner John Fisher said in a statement. “He is one of the brightest minds in the game today. We conducted a very thorough search for our new baseball leadership, and Taylor stood out for his acute understanding of the game, especially in the areas of measuring player performance and player development.
“We have a strong core of returning players, including Nick Kurtz, Brent Rooker, Shea Langeliers, Lawrence Butler, Tyler Soderstrom, Jacob Wilson and Henry Bolte, as well as a lot of great talent in our farm system. With Taylor’s leadership and the talent already in our organization, we believe we have all the pieces in place to build a consistently competitive and winning team.”
Smith also worked for the Rays as part of their research and development team for seven seasons prior to joining the Red Sox in 2024.
With Boston, he oversaw the organization’s baseball research and development efforts, including analytics, sciences, systems and technology, while also leading the department’s collaboration with player acquisitions, development and baseball operations groups.
A native of Woodstock, Ga., Smith graduated from the University of Georgia with joint bachelor’s and master’s degrees in statistics along with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics.
“The Athletics changed the way baseball thinks about building a team, and their pioneering work during the Moneyball era opened the door to my own career in the game,” Smith said. “It’s an honor to build on that legacy as we work to create the next great A’s team, build on our foundation for sustained success and prepare for our new home in Las Vegas.”
“It’s exciting to welcome Taylor to the Athletics as the new president of baseball operations,” said A’s senior advisor Billy Beane. “He is a smart, creative baseball mind with the leadership skills to build a cutting-edge, winning organization that our fans can be proud of for years to come. I couldn’t be more excited about the A’s future.”
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