Athletics enter the new season with the same glaring weakness from 2025

The Athletics were quite the exciting team to watch last season. They rivaled other top offenses across the league, finishing with a top-five team ERA, and finished seventh in terms of total home runs.

What really set this team back was its pitching staff. Luis Severino was a completely different pitcher on the road than he was at home. Sutter Health Park was not too kind to him or many of the other pitchers on the staff. 

The A's finished last year with a team ERA of 4.70, which was the fourth-worst in all of baseball. They would love for that to change, and they did make some moves over the offseason to address that. 

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Athletics enter the new season with the same glaring weakness from 2025

The A's went out and signed starting pitcher Aaron Civale, who struggled last season. They also went out and signed relievers Mark Leiter Jr. and Scott Barlow to help bolster the bullpen. 

Still, many analysts are concerned that it will not be enough to help drastically improve the club this year. Bleacher Report's Tim Kelly does not have faith in the quality of arms the A's have on their roster. 

"The combination of a lack of quality pitchers and a bandbox of a stadium in Sacramento will probably keep the A's from being a real postseason contender, though their offense will be fun to watch in the process."

The 2026 season could be much of the same for the A's and their fanbase. They should have no problem producing runs, especially home runs, but the pitching staff is likely to hold them back again. 

They are just a few arms short of being someone to watch out for in the AL West. However, the team is headed in the right direction before their move to Las Vegas, so there's that.

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