The Sacramento A’s have made a formal contract extension offer to first baseman and 2025 American League Rookie of the Year, Nick Kurtz, reported Joel Sherman of the New York Post earlier this afternoon.
Kurtz (age 22) burst on the scene in 2025 after being drafted 4th overall by the A’s out of Wake Forest in the 2024 MLB Draft. It’s uncertain at the moment how much the A’s have offered Kurtz and the number of years in their contract offer to him.
Kurtz Showed Superstar Potential In 2025
Kurtz, in 116 games after being called up in late April of 2025, hit for a .290 batting average with 36 home runs, 86 RBI’s, and a 1.002 OPS. The young first baseman showed superstar levels of production in his first big league season, in which he also ranked in the 92nd percentile for average exit velocity (92.7) and 98th percentile for barrel percentage (18.4) and bat speed (77.2) in 2025, according to Baseball Savant.
According to Baseball Savant, Kurtz was an average runner in 2025 and a below-average defender at first base, but there’s clearly room to grow heading into his age-23 season, in which he will turn 23 on March 12th. Among his impressive accolades in 2025, Kurtz went 6-6 with four home runs, placing his name in the history books as the lone Athletics player in history to hit four home runs in a game, and just the 20th player in league history to accomplish such a feat, according to MLB.com’s Martin Gallegos. It was also reported that Kurtz was the first rookie in league history to hit four home runs in a single game during his rookie campaign, states Gallegos.
A’s Commitment To Locking Up Young Talent Long Term
Sherman reports how the A’s have already successfully made attempts to lock up other young talent in the previous year on their team, which includes shortstop Jacob Wilson, Lawrence Butler, and Tyler Soderstrom, stated Sherman. Kurtz (if a deal can be made) would follow in the similar footsteps of other young A’s players to have signed long-term extensions before becoming arbitration eligible, reports Joel Sherman.
The A’s are a young, up-and-coming team with lots of young talent in their lineup, including first baseman Nick Kurtz, shortstop Jacob Wilson, and outfielders Lawrence Butler and Tyler Soderstrom. The A’s could become a very competitive franchise in the near future as they wrap up their final seasons in Sacramento before making the permanent move to Las Vegas, in which the A’s are reportedly prepared to arrive in Vegas sometime before the 2028 season, according to ESPN.
The A’s commitment to securing up-and-coming talent long term, as well as the preparation for their new ballpark in Las Vegas, will have A’s fans excited for a new era of baseball for this Athletics team that previously left Oakland for Sacramento and finished in 4th place in the American League West last season with a 76-86 overall record.
While we know the two sides have been having some dialogue regarding extension talks, whether they can reach an agreement in the coming weeks and months remains to be seen.
A’s Trying To Extend Superstar First Baseman Nick Kurtz