The Oakland Athletics were the absolute worst team in MLB this past season. But as the Athletics try to right the ship, Oakland believes Mark Kotsay is the right leader at manager.

Kotsay had his 2025 option exercised by the A's, via Jon Morosi of the MLB Network. He is now expected to lead the Athletics for the foreseeable future.

Oakland might've felt compelled to pick up Kotay's contract due to the lingering interest he received from the New York Mets. While the Mets decided on Carlos Mendoza, Kotsay was at one point a candidate. Rather than let Kotsay be potentially available to other teams around the league, the Athletics decided to commit to their manager for the next two seasons. There's no promise Kotsay will stay, especially if things stay bad. But at least he knows Oakland won't be moving on from him despite those struggles.

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Mark Kotsay has been leading Oakland for the past two seasons. The team holds a 110-214 overall record with their 2023 50-112 record being worst in MLB. The A's ranked at the bottom of nearly every metric stat both in the box and on the mound.

Of course, all of that can't be blamed on Kotsay. Oakland's ownership has been more focused on their move to Las Vegas rather than building a playoff ready team. By 2025, maybe the Athletics will be finally ready to focus on winning. Unless he leaves for another job, Kotsay will be there to guide the way. He'll just have to battle through some severely choppy waters first.