MESA, Ariz. -- He established himself as a rookie last season, but Ryan Noda isn¡¯t dwelling too much on his sophomore year expectations.

Like all of the A¡¯s, particularly as their Spring Training opener approaches, Noda just wants to win.

The 2022 Rule 5 Draft pick battled last spring to make the team and then emerged as the everyday first baseman and one of the American League¡¯s better rookies. Sure, building on that is all well and good, but for a team that won just 50 games, the view ahead is much broader as the A¡¯s open Cactus League play Saturday at Hohokam Stadium against the Rockies (12:05 p.m. PT, listen live on MLB Audio).

¡°I¡¯ve got to keep getting better,¡± Noda said after hitting drills on Thursday, before quickly recalibrating the bigger picture. ¡°My whole thing is we just want to win. Last year we didn¡¯t win a lot, and for me, I think it was just a failure. We all know it. We all worked this offseason. We all kept tabs on each other to make sure we¡¯re all doing the same work, getting in the gym, getting in the cage, working on the right things.¡±

The left-handed hitter slashed .229/.364/.406 in 2023, but his 77 walks led all MLB rookies and his .770 OPS ranked ninth among rookies with at least 400 at-bats. Go ahead and add Noda's 22 doubles and 16 home runs to the totals, and the dude knows how to get on base.

Most of Noda¡¯s action came while batting second in the order, but he did bat leadoff in 21 of his starts as a rookie with a healthy .776 OPS in the top spot.

That knack for finding a way on base could see him batting leadoff more in 2024.

¡°It can play into that, definitely,¡± A¡¯s manager Mark Kotsay said Thursday. ¡°I don¡¯t think that the leadoff spot has to be a guy that has speed. He¡¯s definitely a guy you want to get on base as much as possible. We¡¯ll look at that as an option.¡±

Not that Noda didn¡¯t check into camp with a specific to-do list. He and Kotsay talked throughout the offseason about two bugs in Noda¡¯s game right now: his backhand defense at first base, and those pesky 170 strikeouts in 406 at-bats.

¡°I don¡¯t think he had his best year. He had a good, solid year. I think he can get better,¡± Kotsay added. ¡°He¡¯s focused on that, and hopefully those areas improve.¡±

Elsewhere on the infield is newcomer Abraham Toro. The A¡¯s traded for the 27-year-old in the offseason.

Toro is versatile at the plate as a switch-hitter and also in the field. He¡¯s played more than 100 games at both third and second base in a five-year Major League career that includes stints with the Astros, Mariners and Brewers before landing in the Bay Area.

Competition for third base looks wide open in camp, and that¡¯s the position Toro says ¡°feels more natural.¡±

¡°The biggest difference is the arm slot when you throw,¡± he said. ¡°When I¡¯m on third, I¡¯m throwing over the top; at second is more like sideways a little bit. Even when I¡¯m playing catch, that¡¯s what I work on.¡±

It¡¯s yet to be determined where Toro will make those throws from, but it¡¯s certain that those throws will make their way to Noda at first.

It¡¯s also yet to be determined from where in the batting order Noda will take his swings.

¡°Wherever they put me, they put me. If it¡¯s leadoff, second, third, seventh, whatever,¡± Noda said with a smile, having also learned as a rookie what battling leadoff can get you.

¡°A couple times on the road, it¡¯s a little weird. The clean box was a little different. Usually there¡¯s already a couple digs in there. I got used to it.¡±