​On Monday, Athletics’ President of Baseball Operations Taylor Smith said that the club is prioritizing a longer-term approach out of the gate, with the club not wanting to do anything too quickly. The goal initially is that they get a good understanding of the club, its environment, and its farm system before they begin making moves. Well, just two days later, A’s longtime assistant GM Billy Owens was quoted in The Athletic, saying, “We’re not going to be content with screens and draw. We’re ready to throw the ball down the field.”Smith went on to say in that article that he thinks the organization will have a much higher degree of flexibility than in years past, with the implication being on the financial side of things. With all of this being the case, this is certainly a free agent class and an offseason in which the A’s could surprise some people for two reasons.Two Reasons Why A’s Could Surprise This OffseasonThe first reason is that the free agent class, outside of left-hander Tarik Skubal, is fairly weak. Skubal is projected to receive somewhere in the $400 million range if he opts for a long-term deal instead of a higher AAV contract. That’s likely outside of the A’s price range.MLB Trade Rumors ranked left-hander Trevor Rogers as the second-best free agent this winter, and projected him for a five-year, $115 million contract. Athletics Roundtable wrote nearly a month ago that Rogers could be a fit for the club due to his superb 5.6% walk rate in 2026. Limiting baserunners in a hitter-friendly park (whether in Sacramento or Las Vegas) is one simple way the A’s are looking to take a step forward with the pitching staff moving forward. Rogers does that. The one caveat with Rogers specifically is that he has been extended a qualifying offer. If he rejects that offer as expected, he would cost the team that signs him a draft pick as well. Since the A’s receive revenue sharing, they would sacrifice their third overall pick in the 2027 MLB Draft.Rogers is just one example of a free agent the A’s could sign, and given that they’ve already dabbled near that range with Tyler Soderstrom’s seven-year, $86 million extension, Rogers at that price seems reasonable, but also an example of the front office throwing the ball down the field. The second reason that the A’s could be a team that surprises and plays in the upper echelon of the free agent market is the Vegas timeline. While the focus is on the long-term health of the franchise overall, part of that math has to be generating buzz with the team’s play on the field before they arrive in Las Vegas. All that said, the A’s have yet to be mentioned in a rumor thus far this winter, and with the expected lockout set to begin on December 1, there isn’t much time to get some shopping done. But the deadline cuts both ways. A front office looking to make a move has a short window to prove it, while a signing like Rogers, at a price that meets the flexibility that Smith described, is the kind of mo