Boasting a terrific young stable of position players, the Athletics have invested in that unit by agreeing to a franchise-record contract with Tyler Soderstrom. <\/p>\n
Per ESPN’s Jeff Passan<\/a>, Soderstrom has agreed to a seven-year, $86 million extension with the A’s that marks the largest guaranteed deal in club history. <\/p>\n Passan added the contract includes a team option for an eighth season and escalators that could push the total value up to $131 million. <\/p>\n The seven-year minimum for Soderstrom will keep him under contract through the 2032 season. He was set to become arbitration-eligible for the first time in 2027.<\/p>\n This also marks the third long-term extension the A’s have given out to one of their key offensive players. Brent Rooker got a\u00a0five-year, $60 million<\/a>\u00a0contract in January, followed by Lawrence Butler signing a\u00a0seven-year, $65.5 million<\/a>\u00a0deal in March.<\/p>\n Before Soderstrom’s deal, the A’s had never given out a contract of at least $70 million. Their\u00a0richest total deal<\/a>\u00a0ever given out was a three-year, $67 million pact with Luis Severino in December 2024.<\/p>\n The richest extension for a homegrown player was Eric Chavez’s six-year, $66 million deal signed in 2004.<\/p>\n Soderstrom was the Athletics’ first-round pick in the 2020 draft. He made his MLB debut midway through the 2023 season and struggled in his first exposure against big-league pitching with a .160\/.232\/.240 slash line.<\/p>\n After starting 2024 in Triple-A, Soderstrom returned to the Show just over one month into the year. He showed a lot of improvement this time around, posting a .233\/.315\/.429 line in just 61 games.<\/p>\n The 2025 campaign was a full breakout year for Soderstrom with a .276\/.346\/.474 slash line and 25 homers in 158 games. He was\u00a0one of three<\/a>\u00a0A’s players aged 24 or under who posted at least 3.0 fWAR this past season, along with AL Rookie of the Year winner Nick Kurtz and runner-up Jacob Wilson.<\/p>\n The A’s are still on track to have the\u00a0fifth-lowest payroll<\/a>\u00a0in MLB next season, but they have started to show more of a willingness recently to pay players they believe can be part of their next great core.<\/p>\n