Nick Kurtz Facing Decision After Comments From Athletics GM

"David Forst said he’s had 'a lot of conversations' with ownership about more contract extensions for the A’s young talent, like Nick Kurtz and Jacob Wilson," Gallegos reported. "Said he imagines those talks will pick up in the next few months."

Kurtz and Wilson got paid the league minimum of $760,000 as rookies and each have two years left of pre-arbitration, via Spotrac. Arbitration, which is for players with at least three years but less than six years of service time, is when they can negotiate their salary with their team for the upcoming season. If the two parties don't agree, then an independent arbitrator decides on a compromise.

However, both players are likely to gain "Super Two" status, which grants them arbitration eligibility a year earlier if they rank in the top 22 percent of players with at least two but less than three years of service time.

Nick Kurtz Could Follow Ronald Acuna Path

Kurtz and Wilson must decide between choosing guaranteed money now or holding out for arbitration. Signing extensions this offseason would buy out their arbitration years and pre-emptively resolve the aforementioned salary negotiations. This is what Atlanta Braves superstar Ronald Acuna Jr. did with his eight-year, $100 million pre-arbitration extension in 2019.

On the other hand, that would be especially risky for Kurtz given his historic start. On July 25, the 6-foot-5, 240-pounder became the first rookie in MLB history and first Athletics player ever to hit four homers in a 15-3 win over the Houston Astros. He also hit a double and a single, tying Shawn Green's record for total bases in a game (19).

Kurtz also won the AL Player of the Month award for July, becoming the first Athletic to win the award since Josh Donaldson in September 2013. The Tennessee native also hit the longest homer in franchise history since the introduction of Statcast in 2015 with a 493-foot grand slam off of Cincinnati Reds pitcher Scott Barlow on Sept. 13.

Kurtz could command more in arbitration than what the Athletics will offer him now, but his decision will come down to whether he wants to bet on himself or take the immediate security.