The Athletics' quest to attract free agents to Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, their home venue for the next three years, will be an uphill climb. MLB's free agency period is less than a month old, and the A's pitch is already meeting resistance.
More news: A's Move to Sacramento Unpopular With Dodgers' Free Agent: Report
Manager Mark Kotsay reportedly said the A's were talking to free agent right-hander Walker Buehler, but he didn't want to play in Sacramento.
Current Dodgers pitcher Ryan Brasier called the A's move to a Triple-A stadium "complete BS."
"I know nobody shows up but I'd rather play in a stadium where nobody shows up than Sacramento where the clubhouses — you have to walk from the first base dugout through the left-field fence to get to the visiting clubhouse," Brasier told Rob Bradford on the Baseball Isn't Boring podcast last week. "Unless they renovate it all and do some new stuff. I think that is complete BS."
More news: Dodgers Pitcher Blasts Rays' and A's Relocation Plans as 'Complete BS'
Undeterred, the A's are maintaining ambitious goals for this offseason.
According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, "the Athletics plan to spend money, increasing their payroll to about $100 million, keeping owners and the players association off their back with the revenue sharing money they receive."
More news: Legendary Braves All-Star, Batting Champion Dies
The A's are moving from the 10th-largest media market in the U.S. to the 20th-largest, according to the most recent rankings by Sports Media Watch. The A's market size allows them to receive revenue sharing from MLB.
Under the league's current Collective Bargaining Agreement, teams pool 48 percent of their revenues each year. The distribution of those revenues benefits revenue-sharing recipient clubs, who cannot compete with the profits of their large-market brethren by virtue of their less lucrative television contracts and smaller attendance figures.
More news: Juan Soto Seeking More Than Money in Free Agent Discussions: Report
Such teams have been openly criticized by their peers for not spending those revenues on player salaries. In the A's case, the criticism has specifically been lobbied at owner John Fisher for hoarding revenue sharing money in order to fund the team's move to Las Vegas — the nation's 40th-largest media market.
The A's are hoping to have a new stadium there in place for the 2028 season. However, the financing details of the stadium project have yet to be fleshed out. The Nevada Independent reported that the financing plan covering the team's $1.5 billion baseball stadium on the Strip "is in place," but any public discussion of funding will wait until December.
More news: Former Angels, Tigers, Phillies Pitcher Passes Away
Against this backdrop, increasing the team's salary from $63.4 million in 2024 (per Spotrac) to $100 million in 2025 might be tricky. If players are unwilling to play in Sacramento in the near term, or are wary about the uncertainty around the team's long-term plans in Las Vegas, adding salary might not be as simple as signing a handful of free agents.
A's general manager David Forst might look to acquire players via trade this offseason instead. The Cubs are reportedly looking to trade Cody Bellinger, who recently opted into the second year of a contract that pays $27.5 million in 2025. Forst could also pursue several smaller trades with teams looking to shed salary this offseason.
For more MLB news, visit Newsweek Sports.
English (US) ·