WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Even Athletics veterans walk around the clubhouse wearing “Nick Kurtz goes yard” T-shirts, and they know what he means for the franchise’s future.

Kurtz, the former Wake Forest star who recently had one of the greatest individual performances in big-league history, is the odds-on favorite to be AL Rookie of the Year. He’s hardly the only talented youngster giving A’s fans — wherever they might be — reason to feel optimistic about the team’s on-field direction.

The A’s are in transition in more ways than one. Most notably, the club is playing the first of what’s expected to be three seasons in Sacramento — a temporary, minor league home for the former Oakland franchise until a new stadium is scheduled to be ready in Las Vegas for 2028.

The roster is shaping up

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