LAS VEGAS — As family and friends looked on and four World Series trophies glistened behind him in the lobby of the A’s Experience Center at UnCommons in Las Vegas on Tuesday, Tyler Soderstrom sported a bright smile as he buttoned up a brand new Athletics jersey.

Accompanied by A’s manager Mark Kotsay and general manager David Forst, Soderstrom officially signed a seven-year, $86 million extension, making him the proud new owner of the largest guaranteed contract in franchise history. The deal keeps the 24-year-old Turlock native with the organization through the 2032 season, with a club option for 2033. The contract also has outstanding performance and awards escalators that can bring the total worth of the deal to $131 million.

Soderstrom, who was selected 26th overall by the Athletics in the 2020 MLB Draft of Turlock High School, began his day by touring the construction site of the team’s new ballpark at the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue on the Strip. After taking the podium, he offered thanks to his family, agency Paragon Sports International, and the Athletics organization.

Seated in the front row were parents Steve and Tami. Soderstrom called his father his “biggest hero,” and his mother his “biggest teacher.” Beside them was his wife, Bailey. The couple, together since the seventh grade, married in November.

After thanking agent Garrett Parcell, Soderstrom turned to the A’s brass. “Thank you guys very much for giving me this opportunity. You guys drafted me in 2020 and now we're here. I look forward to moving forward with this franchise, and I know me, and I can speak for the other young guys in this organization, that we're really excited for what's to come.”

The record extension comes after a breakout season for Soderstrom. In 158 games, only second on the team behind Rooker (162), the left-hander was one of the most dangerous bats in the lineup. He swatted 25 home runs and drove in 93 runs as he batted .276 (155-for-561) with a .346 on-base percentage, .474 slugging percentage and a .820 OPS. His 93 RBI led all Athletics. Since making his big league debut on July 14, 2023, the organization’s former top prospect has hit .250 with a .754 OPS with 37 home runs and 126 RBI over 264 games. 

“Watching his maturation process for the last three years, I couldn’t be more proud of where he’s at,” said Kotsay. “The work Tyler has put in on and off the field, becoming a leader, that’s what we’re really focused on, too. For Tyler to take a leadership position. … He’s definitely our future, and he’s shown his trust in us by making his commitment to the A’s organization for the next seven years.”

Added Forst: “Obviously, this keeps him here with the A's well into our time here in Las Vegas starting in 2028, which is a huge part of what we're doing right now is focused on putting that roster together… Tyler obviously had a breakout year in 2025, but the idea of taking this group of young players and locking them up into the new ballpark has been something we've talked about for a long time.”

As Forst alluded to, Soderstrom is the latest young star to be extended by the Athletics. Last offseason, All-Star Brent Rooker inked a 5-year, $60 million extension, while right fielder Lawrence Butler signed a 7-year, $65.5 million deal. Without naming anyone specifically, Forst shared there are ongoing discussions with other players. The A’s received stellar seasons from first baseman Nick Kurtz and shortstop Jacob Wilson, who finished 1-2 in the American League Rookie of the Year race.

Soderstrom said that the friendships he has built with his teammates, all of similar ages, played a major role in his decision to stay with the A’s for the foreseeable future.

“We're a really tight-knit group,” Soderstrom said. “We went through the minor leagues together and now we're all together in the big leagues. It's super special to be sharing the field with them. We're really excited for the next steps in this organization together and hopefully we can bring a lot of rings and winning to Vegas.

“That's probably one of the biggest reasons why this is coming to fruition now. All those teammates, we have such great relationships. I just got married in Hawaii and all my teammates made it out there. Wilson just got married in Arizona and we all made it out there… It's just such a special bond that we have. All the wives and girlfriends are really close together, they all have great friendships. It’s just a really exciting time for everyone.”

Tuesday’s festivities served as full-circle moments for Forst and Kotsay.

Because Soderstrom was drafted in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, he was unable to travel to the Oakland Coliseum to meet with Forst to finalize the rookie contract. That prompted Forst to take a road trip to his family home in Turlock to get the deal done.

“I got to go out to his house, sign the original contract, and then here we are just five and a half years later, signing him to the biggest extension in A's history, so this is exciting for us,” Forst said.

Added Kotsay: “I've been with Tyler since he started in this organization. We talked about it at lunch. I was the third base coach and infield coach when Tyler stepped onto a major league field in a big league spring training environment for the first time (in 2021). It's been a blessing to be a part of his career.”

Forst and Kotsay added that the sacrifices Soderstrom has made was a big reason why they were so eager to commit to him long term. After being drafted as a catcher, Soderstrom made most of his appearances in 2024 at first base. That remained the case through the first month of the 2025 campaign, until Kurtz forced his way into the big leagues and the Turlocker was asked to move to the outfield. Despite not having played the outfield since he was in Little League, Soderstrom was named a Gold Glove finalist. In 108 games in left field, Soderstrom recorded 231 putouts and 11 assists, while only having two errors. The assists were second-most among AL left fielders. Additionally, Soderstrom finished with five outs above average, tied for the most in left field in the AL, and was second in defensive runs saved with 10.

“It was a big thing,” Forst said. “We talked about this back in April, we basically asked our best hitter at the time to go play a position he'd never played in the big leagues, and he didn't balk for a second. He said, ‘Sure, I'll go wherever.’ Obviously, Kurtz was coming up and he knew it made the team better. We all felt like it would. To have a guy who was performing at that level say he was willing to do whatever, we'd already moved him from catcher to first base, now he's willing to go to left field.. to have him be a  team guy to the point where he went out and played a new position, played it pretty darn well to end up as a Gold Glove finalist, that's certainly the kind of guy we're excited to build around.”

Kotsay recalled things similarly: “I can remember where I approached him, it was next to the batting cage. I said, ‘Hey, what do you think about going out to the outfield?’ And his direct quote was, ‘I'm the best athlete on the team. I have no problem.’ At that point, I knew… We did it for a couple days during BP. I watched him, there was some instinct to it, and that's really what you need to play the outfield. The athleticism is always there, it's always been there, and then there was a joy about it. If there was an answer that would have been different, David and I would have had a longer conversation about moving him. But we've got our left fielder now.”

Soderstrom has gradually become a favorite of A’s fans, not only for his local roots and on-field heroics, but his appreciation of the organization's history, never more evident than at the last homestand ever at the Oakland Coliseum in 2024. He participated in the final Alumni Sunday, which saw him join teammates Wilson and Zack Gelof in catching ceremonial first pitches from the trio of Miguel Tejada. Carney Lansford and Terry Steinbach. In the club’s final game in Oakland on Sept. 26, Soderstrom recorded the final putout, and without hesitation gifted the ball to the late, great Rickey Henderson.

Considering his breakout season, the extension, and of course his marriage, Soderstrom joked that 2025 could be a hard year to top. But as for the fast-approaching 2026 season, Soderstrom is confident that the A’s have what it takes to clinch their first postseason berth since 2020.

“There's so much potential that we have… Words can't really explain how excited I am to be a part of that,” Soderstrom said. “Going forward. I think the sky's the limit, for sure.

“Now, I’m just looking forward to getting to spring and getting around the guys again. You kind of get that itch to get going again. I think, personally, just to continue to build on my craft and just keep being the most consistent player, day in and day out, that I can be and just give my team the best chance to win every night… I’m looking forward to getting to Arizona.”​​