Jessica Kleinschmidt on MLB labor talks and the A’s future

Jessica Kleinschmidt told Scott Plaza that a possible 154-game MLB season could make a meaningful difference to players’ health, even though it would cut only eight games. The A’s broadcaster and Baseball America contributor also discussed the club’s unusual run of player extensions, her concerns about abuse tied to sports betting, and why women athletes should be judged without a qualifier.

What did Jessica Kleinschmidt say about her path into A’s coverage?

Jessica Kleinschmidt entered baseball media through blogging rather than a planned broadcasting route. After growing up playing baseball and softball, she was discovered through her work on Twitter, heard from MLB.com and was recruited by NBC Sports. She later worked for the A’s across radio and television, alongside her writing and podcasting.

She played baseball growing up and continued playing softball into adulthood. Kleinschmidt loved writing and talking about the game, but did not expect to become a major league player. Blogging gave her a way to put those interests together, and the response to her work opened a professional path.

Jesse Agler and Tony Gwynn Jr. were among the broadcasters she listened to over the past decade. Their work gave her a model as she moved between formats. Her contract with the A’s was not renewed last year, she said, but she expects to cover the club again in a different format that she had not yet announced.

Why does Jessica Kleinschmidt support discussing a 154-game MLB season?

Jessica Kleinschmidt sees a possible 154-game season as a player-health issue, not merely a change to the schedule. Former players she has spoken with liked the idea, she said, because the strain is visible by September. She also expects the next collective bargaining talks to involve far more than season length or a salary cap.

What eight fewer games could mean for players

Kleinschmidt said players can be worn down late in the year without appearing on the injured list. In her view, eight fewer games could matter to athletes who are still playing while short of full health. She also pointed to potential discussion of injured-list rules, which currently distinguish between position players and pitchers.

The salary cap and other bargaining questions

Covering the A’s has given her a close view of a club that has generally operated with limited spending, even as it has recently made commitments to Brent Rooker, Lawrence Butler, Tyler Soderstrom and Jacob Wilson. Kleinschmidt said players’ views on a salary cap interest her, including those who oppose one and those who want more information before taking a position.

She also raised possible changes to draft compensation, the timing of the draft and trade deadline, and offseason quiet periods. Kleinschmidt does not know whether negotiations will lead to a lockout, but expects them to become more contentious than previous talks. For her, asking players how a proposal would affect them is a way to make a complicated labor debate more human.

What did Jessica Kleinschmidt say about the A’s Rule 5 approach and new front office?

Jessica Kleinschmidt expects the A’s approach to roster building to be worth watching under Taylor Smith, but she does not claim to know his plan. She values the Rule 5 draft as a chance for overlooked players and sees the club’s recent extensions and young hitters as a different starting point for its new baseball operations leadership.

Finding a chance through the Rule 5 draft

Kleinschmidt pointed to Mark Canha as an A’s Rule 5 success and recalled the club finding useful bullpen help through the process. She said the team has historically looked at a broad mix of players, including catchers and young hitters with raw power. Whether that pattern continues will depend in part on who works with Smith.

The opportunity matters to her beyond roster calculations. A player left available by another club gets a chance to establish himself with a new one, often carrying the motivation of having been passed over. Kleinschmidt acknowledged that teams ultimately make those choices by evaluating players, not by chasing a satisfying story.

David Forst’s departure and Taylor Smith’s opportunity

Kleinschmidt said David Forst’s departure was difficult for her because she had learned so much from him and respected him. She also understood why the A’s would consider changes when they wanted better results. She described the dismissal of pitching coach Scott Emerson as another sign that the club was prepared to act.

Smith arrives with young players already in place and several extensions made. Kleinschmidt is particularly eager to see how he handles the trade deadline, whom he adds to his staff and how much freedom he has to make decisions. She said a previous deadline that brought Yan Gomes and Starling Marte showed how consequential those choices can be for the A’s.

What did Jessica Kleinschmidt say about betting and commercialization in MLB?

Jessica Kleinschmidt does not think MLB has abandoned the game by embracing sponsorships, fantasy sports and betting. She sees those changes as ways to attract attention and revenue, while drawing a firm line at fans directing abuse toward players when a wager loses. That treatment, rather than the existence of betting, is her central concern.

Fantasy football affects what she watches even though she does not watch much football otherwise. Kleinschmidt understands why MLB would want similarly engaged audiences, and she thinks betting can give some viewers another reason to follow baseball when a daily fantasy season becomes a grind.

Her objection comes from what that financial stake can bring out in people. She recalled interviewing Liam Hendriks and hearing about death threats connected to a game he did not close out. Kleinschmidt said players and their families should not become targets because someone put money on an outcome.

She also sees an inconsistency in baseball’s relationship with gambling when discussing Pete Rose alongside the sport’s current betting partnerships. Still, she believes the game can accommodate new commercial interests without losing the fans who will watch all nine innings.

What is Jessica Kleinschmidt working on away from A’s games?

Jessica Kleinschmidt is continuing her podcast, Shorten to the Point, on Millions while preparing to return to more prominent baseball coverage next season. The show is deliberately broader than baseball: she brings on guests from other sports and looks for conversations about their lives beyond competition.

She has hosted a WWE superstar and Ricky Carmichael, whose appearance was especially enjoyable for Kleinschmidt, a Reno native who grew up around an interest in dirt bikes. The podcast had been running for about three years, she said, with a yearlong break when A’s coverage took up more of her time.

Preparing for baseball coverage is another part of her offseason. Kleinschmidt said she enjoys that work and the chance to speak with people across the game. She also described using the Millions platform to answer questions from young women interested in working in the industry.

What did Jessica Kleinschmidt say about the growth of women’s sports?

Jessica Kleinschmidt welcomes the wider attention on women’s sports because professional opportunities now feel more normal to discuss and pursue. Her view comes partly from having to leave baseball for softball when she was younger. She wants women athletes to be paid and treated fairly, and to be recognized for their ability without a qualifier.

Kleinschmidt played baseball until she was told, as a sophomore, that she had to switch to softball. The change meant adjusting her swing and leaving the teammates she had grown up with. She ultimately valued the softball experience, including having her father coach her, but remembers how difficult it was to have to choose.

Her work later brought her into contact with Kelsey Whitmore and girls involved with Baseball for All. They visited the NBC Sports studio, where Kleinschmidt could ask about their experiences. She also attended the debut of a documentary in which Whitmore appeared.

Discussing the attention around Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, Kleinschmidt said interest can build as more people see others following women’s sports. She hopes that attention leads to lasting opportunities and better pay. Kleinschmidt put the standard she wants for athletes in simple terms:

Cause you don't want to be good for a girl. You just want to be good.

She encounters the same qualifier in baseball media when someone expresses surprise that she knows the game. Her objection is not to celebrating women’s achievements; it is to treating competence as unexpected.

Who is Jessica Kleinschmidt?

Jessica Kleinschmidt is an athletics multimedia journalist, A’s broadcaster and Baseball America contributor. Her work includes baseball analysis, reporting and features across on-air and written formats.