The Athletics have stunningly decided to back up the Brinks truck.
Outfielder Tyler Soderstrom has agreed to a seven-year, $86 million contract extension with the Athletics, Jeff Passan of ESPN reported on Thursday. That marks the largest guarantee in Athletics franchise history.
Passan adds that Soderstrom’s new contract comes with an eighth-year club option. It also reportedly contains escalators that max out the contract at a whopping $131 million.
The lefty-hitting Soderstrom, 24, broke out in his third career season last year. He hit .276 with 25 home runs and 93 RBIs through 158 games. Soderstrom’s 4.3 WAR figure last season also ranked second on the Athletics to Nick Kurtz at 5.4.
On top of playing in the outfield, Soderstrom made 49 total appearances for the Athletics at first base in 2025. Now the team is buying out all of his arbitration years and putting him under contract through 2033 as a true foundational piece for their franchise.
While the Athletics are infamously one of the cheapest franchises in Major League Baseball, they have spent heavily in free agency over the last couple of winters (also inking pitcher Luis Severino to a $67 million deal in 2024). Though the Athletics inked 25-year-old Lawrence Butler to a similar extension earlier this year as well, there may be a less noble reason for all their spending of late.
