RRosternomics
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David Forst

David Forst

★ active

Born May 18, 1976 · Santa Monica, CA · age 50

Billy Beane's longtime lieutenant and successor as Oakland A's general manager, continuing the franchise's value-driven, low-budget approach.

11 seasons with salary-era data across 1 stint. All figures are franchise-level outcomes during the tenure, not solely attributable to one executive.

Overview

Titles0
Pennants0
Playoffs3
Record756–859
Win %0.468
+0.3GM WAR — wins above a replacement GM (org-adjusted, shrunk; per season) ±4.768th/195 execs
4.9Depth — 2+ WAR regulars per season (the breadth that drives TAB, not stars)147th/195 execs
-6.2Dead WAR — WAR/yr bled by sub-replacement players (closer to 0 = better)146th/195 execs
56%Dead money — payroll on <0.5-WAR players (lower = better)189th/195 execs
$38MCheap-talent surplus — $/yr of value from cost-controlled (pre-arb/arb) players above their pay; the selection engine, and the stickiest GM skill we track28th/195 execs
$14MDrafted surplus — cheap-talent surplus from his own draftees (the develop-from-the-draft engine)40th/195 execs
$14MTraded-for surplus — cheap-talent surplus from cost-controlled players he acquired via trade30th/195 execs
$0MInt'l surplus — cheap-talent surplus from his own international signees121st/195 execs
+7.6TAB — talent above budget — roster-construction alpha (talent your budget bought above expectation), tenure total58th/195 execs
+20.6WAB — realized wins (TAB + the non-repeatable luck of converting talent to wins)36th/195 execs
2.64Acquisition Leverage — playoff pts per acquired WAR, graded once in the year each deal's wins arrive (the repeatable decision skill)57th/195 execs
+199Roster surplus $M8th/195 execs

Tenure breakdown

TeamRoleYearsSzns WAB WAB/yr TAB WAR surp HG Trade FA R5 AcqLev W-L% POPenWS Surp $M
▸ Athletics GM 2016–present 9 +20.6 +2.29 +7.6 +57.1 +48.8 -0.4 -74.2 +0.8 2.64 0.468 3–– +199
Career total (1985+ data) 11 +20.6 +7.6 +57.1 +48.8 -0.4 -74.2 +0.8 2.64 0.468 3– – +199

Roster Construction

How the roster was sourced

by valueby volume

Share of acquired fWAR by channel vs. league average.

Build channels — net fWAR

Acquired minus surrendered / signed minus walked.

Home-grown (draft/intl)+48.8
Trade-0.4
Free agency-74.2
Rule 5 / minor draft+0.8
Sourcing mix: 49% draft · 10% FA · 41% trade · 0% R5

Roster value distribution — career average — depth vs. stars

Every roster slot ranked best→worst by WAR, averaged across David Forst's seasons. Bars = his rosters; the black line = the league-average player at each slot. Staying above the line deep into the roster is the depth edge.

Players acquired — 207 players, by realized fWAR for the franchise (scroll for more)

PlayerPosTeam How Year Szns fWAR WAR/yr Lev
Sean Murphy C OAK Draft 2016 4 +10.5 +2.6 –
Brent Rooker DH/OF OAK Trade 2023 3 +9.5 +3.2 0.0
Frankie Montas P OAK Trade 2018 5 +9.4 +1.9 4.9
Ramón Laureano OF OAK Trade 2017 6 +9.2 +1.5 –
Shea Langeliers C OAK Trade 2022 5 +8.9 +1.8 –
Nick Kurtz 1B OAK Draft 2025 2 +7.6 +3.8 –
Liam Hendriks P OAK Trade 2016 5 +7.6 +1.5 0.1
Khris Davis DH/OF OAK Trade 2016 3 +7.4 +2.5 0.2
Zack Gelof 2B OAK Draft 2023 3 +5.6 +1.9 –
Jacob Wilson SS OAK Draft 2024 3 +4.9 +1.6 –
Tony Kemp 2B/OF OAK Trade 2020 3 +4.8 +1.6 9.5
Tyler Soderstrom 1B/OF OAK Draft 2023 3 +4.2 +1.4 –
Lawrence Butler OF OAK Draft 2023 2 +3.8 +1.9 –
Cole Irvin P OAK Trade 2021 2 +3.4 +1.7 7.2
JJ Bleday OF OAK Trade 2023 2 +3.4 +1.7 0.0
Blake Treinen P OAK Trade 2017 2 +3.3 +1.7 –
Luis Severino P OAK Free agency 2024 2 +3.2 +1.6 1.7
Elvis Andrus SS OAK Trade 2021 2 +3.2 +1.6 5.8
Paul Blackburn P OAK Trade 2016 6 +3.1 +0.5 –
Mason Miller P OAK Draft 2023 3 +3.0 +1.0 –
Rich Hill P OAK Trade 2016 1 +2.7 +2.7 0.2
Stephen Piscotty OF OAK Trade 2018 2 +2.7 +1.4 19.8
JP Sears P OAK Trade 2022 4 +2.6 +0.6 0.0
Matt Joyce OF OAK Free agency 2016 2 +2.4 +1.2 0.8
Robbie Grossman OF OAK Free agency 2019 2 +2.3 +1.2 5.7
J. T. Ginn P OAK Trade 2022 3 +2.2 +0.7 –
Yusmeiro Petit P OAK Free agency 2017 3 +2.1 +0.7 3.6
Mike Fiers P OAK Free agency 2018 3 +2.0 +0.7 0.7
Starling Marte OF OAK Trade 2021 1 +2.0 +2.0 7.1
Max Schuemann SS OAK Draft 2024 2 +1.9 +0.9 –
Yonder Alonso 1B OAK Trade 2017 1 +1.9 +1.9 0.7
James Kaprielian P OAK Trade 2017 3 +1.8 +0.6 –
Homer Bailey P OAK Trade 2019 1 +1.8 +1.8 12.6
Andrew Triggs P OAK Trade 2016 3 +1.7 +0.6 –
Ryan Noda 1B OAK Draft 2023 1 +1.5 +1.5 –
Joakim Soria P OAK Free agency 2018 2 +1.5 +0.7 6.5
Ryan Madson P OAK Trade 2016 2 +1.5 +0.7 0.0
Hogan Harris P OAK Draft 2023 4 +1.3 +0.3 –
Zach Jackson P OAK Draft 2022 2 +1.3 +0.7 –
Jeffrey Springs P OAK Trade 2025 1 +1.3 +1.3 1.2
Nick Martini DH/OF OAK Trade 2018 1 +1.2 +1.2 –
Luis Medina P OAK Trade 2022 3 +1.2 +0.4 –
Mitch Spence P OAK Draft 2024 1 +1.2 +1.2 –
Jacob Lopez P OAK Trade 2024 1 +1.1 +1.1 0.9
Jesús Luzardo P OAK Trade 2017 2 +1.1 +0.6 –
Ross Stripling P OAK Trade 2024 1 +1.1 +1.1 0.3
Denzel Clarke OF OAK Draft 2025 1 +1.0 +1.0 –
Carlos Cortes OF OAK Draft 2025 2 +1.0 +0.5 –
Tyler Ferguson P OAK Draft 2024 2 +1.0 +0.5 –
Jurickson Profar OF OAK Trade 2019 1 +1.0 +1.0 6.9
Esteury Ruiz OF OAK Trade 2023 1 +1.0 +1.0 0.0
Miguel Andújar 3B/OF OAK Trade 2024 2 +0.9 +0.4 0.1
Sean Newcomb P OAK Trade 2023 2 +0.9 +0.5 0.0
Osvaldo Bido P OAK Free agency 2023 1 +0.8 +0.8 0.3
Lucas Erceg P OAK Trade 2023 2 +0.8 +0.4 –
Jack Perkins P OAK Draft 2025 2 +0.8 +0.4 –
Joe Boyle P OAK Trade 2023 2 +0.7 +0.4 –
Edwin Jackson P OAK Free agency 2018 1 +0.7 +0.7 4.1
Tommy La Stella 2B/3B OAK Trade 2020 1 +0.7 +0.7 12.9
Abraham Toro 2B/3B OAK Trade 2024 1 +0.7 +0.7 0.2
Jharel Cotton P OAK Trade 2016 1 +0.6 +0.6 –
Mark Leiter P OAK Free agency 2025 1 +0.6 +0.6 0.1
A. J. Puk P OAK Draft 2016 3 +0.6 +0.2 –
Ryan Buchter P OAK Trade 2018 1 +0.5 +0.5 3.5
Mike Minor P OAK Trade 2020 1 +0.5 +0.5 8.7
Shawn Kelley P OAK Trade 2018 1 +0.5 +0.5 2.7
Christian Bethancourt C OAK Trade 2022 1 +0.5 +0.5 0.0
Andrew Chafin P OAK Trade 2021 1 +0.5 +0.5 1.6
Brady Basso P OAK Draft 2024 3 +0.4 +0.1 –
Jake Diekman P OAK Free agency 2019 2 +0.4 +0.2 1.5
Deolis Guerra P OAK Free agency 2021 1 +0.4 +0.4 1.4
Michel Otañez P OAK Draft 2024 1 +0.4 +0.4 –
Ross Detwiler P OAK Trade 2016 1 +0.4 +0.4 0.0
Burch Smith P OAK Trade 2020 2 +0.4 +0.2 6.5
Daulton Jefferies P OAK Draft 2016 2 +0.3 +0.2 –
Jonathan Lucroy C OAK Free agency 2018 1 +0.3 +0.3 1.7
T. J. McFarland P OAK Trade 2024 1 +0.3 +0.3 0.1
Marc Rzepczynski P OAK Trade 2016 1 +0.3 +0.3 0.0
Yan Gomes C OAK Trade 2021 1 +0.3 +0.3 0.9
Josh Harrison 2B/3B OAK Trade 2021 1 +0.3 +0.3 0.9
Jake Lamb 3B OAK Trade 2020 1 +0.3 +0.3 5.8
Dustin Garneau C OAK Trade 2017 2 +0.3 +0.1 0.0
José Suarez P OAK Trade 2026 1 +0.3 +0.3 0.0
Francisco Pérez P OAK Trade 2023 1 +0.3 +0.3 0.0
Joel Kuhnel P OAK Trade 2026 1 +0.3 +0.3 0.0
Elvis Alvarado P OAK Draft 2025 2 +0.2 +0.1 –
Tanner Anderson P OAK Trade 2018 1 +0.2 +0.2 1.5
Aaron Civale P OAK Free agency 2026 1 +0.2 +0.2 0.0
Joey Estes P OAK Trade 2022 2 +0.2 +0.1 –
Angel Felipe P OAK Draft 2023 1 +0.2 +0.2 –
Dérmis García 1B OAK Draft 2022 1 +0.2 +0.2 –
Kyle McCann C OAK Draft 2024 1 +0.2 +0.2 –
Sergio Romo P OAK Free agency 2021 1 +0.2 +0.2 0.7
Tyler Wade 2B/OF OAK Free agency 2022 1 +0.2 +0.2 0.0
Alika Williams SS OAK Trade 2026 1 +0.2 +0.2 0.0
Scott Alexander P OAK Free agency 2024 1 +0.1 +0.1 0.0
Ryan Castellani P OAK Free agency 2022 1 +0.1 +0.1 0.0
Brett Harris 3B OAK Draft 2024 1 +0.1 +0.1 –
Grant Holman P OAK Draft 2024 2 +0.1 +0.0 –
Brooks Kriske P OAK Free agency 2025 1 +0.1 +0.1 0.0
Matt Krook P OAK Free agency 2024 1 +0.1 +0.1 0.0
Ryan Lavarnway C OAK Free agency 2016 1 +0.1 +0.1 0.0
Trevor May P OAK Free agency 2022 1 +0.1 +0.1 0.0
Austin Pruitt P OAK Free agency 2022 1 +0.1 +0.1 0.0
Brian Schlitter P OAK Free agency 2019 1 +0.1 +0.1 0.8
Luis Urías 2B/3B OAK Free agency 2025 1 +0.1 +0.1 0.1
Ken Waldichuk P OAK Trade 2022 1 +0.1 +0.1 –
Jordan Weems P OAK Trade 2020 1 +0.1 +0.1 –
John Axford P OAK Trade 2016 1 +0.1 +0.1 0.0
Tanner Roark P OAK Trade 2019 1 +0.1 +0.1 0.4
Josh Smith P OAK Trade 2017 1 +0.1 +0.1 0.0
Joel Payamps P OAK Trade 2022 1 +0.1 +0.1 0.0
Shintaro Fujinami P OAK Trade 2023 1 +0.1 +0.1 0.0
Austin Adams P OAK Trade 2024 1 +0.0 +0.0 0.0
Jeremy Bleich P OAK Trade 2018 – -0.0 – –
Carlos Duran P OAK Trade 2025 – -0.0 – –
Justin Grimm P OAK Free agency 2022 – -0.0 – –
Reymin Guduan P OAK Free agency 2020 1 +0.0 +0.0 0.0
Geoff Hartlieb P OAK Free agency 2025 – -0.0 – –
Drew Jackson OF OAK Free agency 2021 – -0.0 – –
Pete Kozma SS OAK Free agency 2020 – -0.0 – –
Easton Lucas P OAK Trade 2023 1 -0.0 -0.0 –
Josh Lucas P OAK Trade 2018 – -0.0 – –
Willie MacIver C OAK Draft 2025 – -0.0 – –
Mickey McDonald DH/OF OAK Draft 2022 – -0.0 – –
Nate Mondou 2B OAK Draft 2022 – -0.0 – –
Noah Murdock P OAK Draft 2025 1 +0.0 +0.0 –
Jack O'Loughlin P OAK Draft 2024 – -0.0 – –
Gerardo Reyes P OAK Free agency 2023 1 +0.0 +0.0 0.0
Brian Serven C OAK Free agency 2025 1 +0.0 +0.0 0.0
Michael Stefanic 2B OAK Free agency 2025 1 +0.0 +0.0 0.0
Cody Thomas OF OAK Draft 2022 1 -0.0 -0.0 –
Ka'ai Tom OF OAK Rule 5 2020 – +0.0 – –
Collin Wiles P OAK Draft 2022 1 +0.0 +0.0 –
Cory Gearrin P OAK Trade 2018 1 +0.0 +0.0 0.0
Patrick Schuster P OAK Trade 2016 1 +0.0 +0.0 0.0
David McKay P OAK Trade 2022 1 +0.0 +0.0 0.0
Richard Lovelady P OAK Trade 2023 1 +0.0 +0.0 0.0
Austin Allen C OAK Trade 2020 2 +0.0 +0.0 0.3
Mason Barnett P OAK Trade 2024 1 -0.1 -0.1 –
Ben Bowden P OAK Free agency 2024 – -0.1 – –
Aaron Brooks P OAK Free agency 2024 – -0.1 – –
Jaff Decker OF OAK Free agency 2016 – -0.1 – –
Jonah Heim C OAK Trade 2017 1 -0.1 -0.1 –
Dean Kiekhefer P OAK Free agency 2018 – -0.1 – –
Sam Long P OAK Trade 2023 – -0.1 – –
Jed Lowrie 2B/SS OAK Free agency 2021 5 -0.1 -0.0 20.5
Parker Markel P OAK Free agency 2022 – -0.1 – –
Luis Morales P OAK Draft 2025 1 -0.1 -0.1 –
Mitch Moreland 1B OAK Free agency 2021 – -0.1 – –
Jhonny Pereda C OAK Trade 2025 – -0.1 – –
Jace Peterson 2B/3B OAK Free agency 2022 1 -0.1 -0.1 0.0
Cal Stevenson OF OAK Trade 2022 – -0.1 – –
Alex Wood P OAK Free agency 2024 – -0.1 – –
Domingo Acevedo P OAK Trade 2021 1 -0.2 -0.2 –
Arismendy Alcántara 2B/OF OAK Trade 2016 – -0.2 – –
Michael Brady P OAK Trade 2017 – -0.2 – –
Simón Castro P OAK Free agency 2016 – -0.2 – –
Marco Estrada P OAK Free agency 2019 – -0.2 – –
Chris Herrmann C/OF OAK Free agency 2018 – -0.2 – –
Nick Hundley C OAK Free agency 2019 – -0.2 – –
Dany Jiménez P OAK Free agency 2021 2 -0.2 -0.1 0.0
Jared Koenig P OAK Draft 2022 – -0.2 – –
Christian Lopes 2B/OF OAK Draft 2022 – -0.2 – –
Sam Moll P OAK Trade 2017 1 -0.2 -0.2 –
Emilio Pagán P OAK Trade 2017 – -0.2 – –
Norge Ruíz P OAK Draft 2022 – -0.2 – –
Chad Smith P OAK Trade 2022 – -0.2 – –
Michael Kelly P OAK Trade 2024 1 -0.2 -0.2 0.0
Justin Sterner P OAK Trade 2025 1 -0.2 -0.2 0.2
Jesús Aguilar 1B OAK Free agency 2023 – -0.3 – –
Armando Alvarez 1B/3B OAK Draft 2024 – -0.3 – –
Darell Hernaiz 3B/SS OAK Trade 2023 1 -0.3 -0.3 –
José Leclerc P OAK Free agency 2025 – -0.3 – –
Nate Orf 2B/SS OAK Free agency 2019 – -0.3 – –
Spencer Patton P OAK Free agency 2023 – -0.3 – –
Carlos Pérez C OAK Free agency 2019 – -0.3 – –
Kirby Snead P OAK Trade 2022 – -0.3 – –
Austin Wynns C OAK Trade 2025 1 -0.3 -0.3 0.2
Garrett Acton P OAK Draft 2023 – -0.4 – –
Nick Allen SS OAK Draft 2022 1 -0.4 -0.4 –
Jonah Bride 1B/3B OAK Draft 2022 – -0.4 – –
Daz Cameron OF OAK Free agency 2023 – -0.4 – –
Aledmys Díaz SS OAK Free agency 2022 – -0.4 – –
Jeurys Familia P OAK Free agency 2023 1 -0.4 -0.4 4.1
Chris Hatcher P OAK Trade 2017 1 -0.4 -0.4 0.0
Gunnar Hoglund P OAK Trade 2022 – -0.4 – –
Jacob Lemoine P OAK Draft 2022 – -0.4 – –
Zach Logue P OAK Trade 2022 – -0.4 – –
Adrián Martinez P OAK Trade 2022 – -0.4 – –
Colby Thomas OF OAK Draft 2025 1 -0.4 -0.4 –
Gio Urshela 3B OAK Free agency 2024 – -0.4 – –
Kevin Smith 3B/SS OAK Trade 2022 1 -0.4 -0.4 0.0
Dustin Fowler OF OAK Trade 2017 – -0.5 – –
Billy McKinney OF OAK Free agency 2022 – -0.5 – –
Joey Meneses 1B/DH OAK Free agency 2025 – -0.5 – –
Max Muncy 3B OAK Draft 2025 – -0.5 – –
Jeff McNeil 2B/OF OAK Trade 2025 – -0.6 – –
Drew Rucinski P OAK Free agency 2022 – -0.6 – –
Kyle Muller P OAK Trade 2024 1 -0.6 -0.6 0.0
Scott Barlow P OAK Free agency 2026 – -0.7 – –
Sheldon Neuse 2B/3B OAK Trade 2017 1 -0.7 -0.7 –
Chris Smith P OAK Trade 2016 1 -0.7 -0.7 0.0
Vimael Machín 3B OAK Trade 2019 – -0.9 – –
Stephen Vogt C OAK Free agency 2022 4 -0.9 -0.2 2.8
Jordan Diaz 2B/3B OAK Draft 2022 – -1.0 – –
Adam Oller P OAK Trade 2022 – -1.6 – –

WAB = wins above what the team's payroll predicted (resource-controlled). WAR surplus = era-neutral value (WAR minus payroll in win-equivalents). Roster surplus $M = dollar value of WAR over cost. Build channels (realized fWAR): HG = home-grown via amateur draft / international signing; Trade = acquired minus surrendered (incl. purchases/waivers); FA = signed minus walked; R5 = Rule-5 / minor-league-draft pickups. Credit follows the acquisition year — home-grown to the regime at the player's draft/signing (not whoever was in the chair when he peaked), trade/FA/R5 to the GM who made the move. Players acquired as prospects before debuting (e.g. Smoltz, Bagwell; Rule-5 picks like Uggla) are counted as trade/R5, not home-grown. All are franchise-level outcomes during the stint, not solely attributable to one executive.

Graphs

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Rosternomics — quantifying front-office skill, attribution-clean. Follow @rosternomics on X. Decision-makers on record back to 1933; resource-controlled metrics (WAR & payroll) cover 1985–2026.
Data: FanGraphs (WAR), Baseball-Reference & the Chadwick Bureau register (rosters, IDs), the Lahman Database, Baseball America prospect rankings (via The Baseball Cube), and public payroll records. Transaction and trade data was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by Retrosheet. Executive birth/death data via Wikidata (CC0); bios are original. Emoji graphics by OpenMoji (CC BY-SA 4.0).
All figures are franchise-level outcomes credited to the decision-maker in the acquisition year — not solely attributable to one executive.