The Athletics and shortstop Jacob Wilson have agreed to a seven-year, $70 million contract extension, confirms Jim Bowden of CBS Sports HQ.
Wilson, 23, finished second in AL Rookie of the Year voting behind teammate Nick Kurtz last season. Wilson hit .311/.355/.444 (121 OPS+) with 26 doubles, 13 home runs, 63 RBI, 62 runs, five stolen bases and 3.0 WAR in his 125 games. He started the All-Star Game at shortstop for the American League.
The deal buys out the remaining pre-arbitration years and all arbitration years in addition to two years of free agency, as Wilson wasn’t set to hit the open market until after the 2030 season. He’s now locked up through 2032.
This deal comes on the heels of the A’s locking up left fielder Tyler Soderstrom to a seven-year, $86 million deal. It’s interesting to note these two moves together because the A’s tore this ballclub down to the studs before leaving Oakland and now appear to be gearing up for their hopeful move to Las Vegas. For the time being, they’ll continue to play in a minor-league ballpark in Sacramento.
The A’s were 76-86 last season, a seven-game improvement from 2024. They had winning records, however, in July, August and September, respectively, and were 35-29 after the All-Star break.