While the Athletics’ move from Oakland to Sacramento will naturally dominate the headlines this season, general manager David Forst will have his hands full just with the normal trappings of the baseball offseason. Forst told reporters (including radio broadcaster Jessica Kleinschmidt and the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser) that the team plans to spend more on payroll than it did in 2024, and that the A’s are hopeful of bringing back the entire coaching staff for their first season in Sacramento.
As per RosterResource, the A’s spent roughly $63.1MM on payroll last season, easily the lowest in baseball. Forst’s front office also has an entirely clean payroll slate heading into 2025, as the A’s don’t have a single dollar officially committed to any player for the coming season. The Athletics have five impending free agents, five players eligible for salary arbitration (to the tune of a projected $13.8MM if all are tendered contracts), and the rest of the roster is still in their pre-arb years.
In theory, this gives Forst some flexibility in upgrading a team that showed some promise last season. While the A’s were only 69-93, this at least represented a sizeable improvement from the club’s 112-loss performance in 2023. Moreover, the Athletics seemed to turn a corner around midseason, as they were 39-37 from July 1 onward. Between slugger Brent Rooker, flame-throwing closer Mason Miller, breakout outfielder Lawrence Butler, and others, the Athletics’ latest rebuild has already developed some interesting pieces of a new core. Both Rooker and Zack Gelof are quoted in Slusser’s piece as having an eye towards contending as early as next season.
Of course, given the Athletics’ usual reluctance to spend, we should probably wait and see if owner John Fisher will indeed approve even a modest payroll increase. This winter in particular carries the X-factor of how the Athletics’ revenues will be impacted by the move to Sacramento’s Sutter Health Park, a Triple-A stadium (home of the Giants’ top minor league affiliate) with a total capacity of just over 14,000. As Slusser notes, there are still plenty of details about the move that team officials themselves aren’t yet certain. Forst believed Sutter Health Park would continue to have an artificial playing surface during the Athletics’ tenure, though no renovation work has started on the field itself in preparation for 2025.
The other challenge facing Forst this offseason is how exactly he’ll be able to lure desirable players to join the A’s, even if more money is available to spend. “We do have to sell it, and I’d be lying if I told you I knew what the answers will be on the other side,” Forst said. While the younger talent on the roster might be attractive to free agents under normal circumstances, the fact remains that many players might not have interest in joining a franchise that will be spending at least its next three seasons in a minor league ballpark. It seems likely that the A’s will again be limited to signing players to one-year contracts, with an eye towards flipping those players at the trade deadline if the team isn’t in contention.
As for the coaching staff, some turnover might develop if other teams step forward with job offers or promotions for any A’s coaches. Slusser also suggests that the Athletics might not stand in the way if rival clubs had interest in manager Mark Kotsay, which would be an interesting wrinkle to both the team’s rebuilding plans and to any possible managerial vacancies around the league.
Kotsay is only 179-307 over three seasons as the Athletics’ skipper, though the poor record doesn’t fairly access his managerial ability given how little Kotsay has had to work with on a rebuilding roster, not to mention the added tumult of the franchise’s planned move. Kotsay is under contract just through the 2025 season, and it is perhaps worth noting that the A’s let previous manager Bob Melvin go to the Padres when Melvin also had a year remaining on his contract.
“As far as the potential for losing [Kotsay], those things are out of my control right now,” Forst said. “He absolutely deserves to be considered by anyone who has a managerial opening, but he’s under contract here and wants to be here. And there’s no one I would rather have managing this team.”
Melchez17
Raise payroll? Minimum wage was raised in California. They had to.
Lets Go DBacks
With an average attendance of 11,000 it shouldn’t be such a problem to make a move to a stadium of 13,000 but if they wish to start successfully once they move to Las Vegas, they should start working towards a competitive team now and increase spending, yes. You can’t move to Las Vegas, the city of entertainment, and field an AAAA team.
YankeesBleacherCreature
That depends on whether Fisher wants to bridge an identity of the former Oakland A’s over to Las Vegas. The first Las Vegas team will stand to make very good revenue due its initial buzz even with an AAAA team.
I suppose playing in Sacremento is better for fringe players contemplating playing in Japan and S. Korea without having to learn a new culture and language. If the goal is to resemble a MLB team, then they should raise payroll to sign such players. Being competitive is a whole another conversation.
LLGiants64
I agree, but they are going to. By 2030, Las Vegas will hate the A’s ownership.
Blackpink in the area
Most teams around the league inflate their ticket sales numbers. Many teams would be fine with a seating capacity of 14k.
SweetBabyRayKingsThickThighs
Buy some back-end starters and relief help that can be flipped. Take a chance on that Japanese pitcher looking to come over stateside.
LLGiants64
What professional baseball player with other options would sign with the A’s?
sad tormented neglected mariners fan
That Japanese pitcher is the next shintaro fujinami
This one belongs to the Reds
From the outside looking in, they couldn’t really go any lower….
Warden of the North(acoss13)
I’m sure Fisher did his best to haggle for some sandlot in the Bay area from the local kids.
Yankee Clipper
I love how they can’t even commit to actually raising payroll, despite how near impossible it is to stay the same – “Aim to raise payroll…”, “plans to spend.”
I wouldn’t wish this type of management on our biggest nemeses.
LordD99
Spend one more dollar than last year and they’ve raised payroll!
₩arkMohlers
Ive wished death on better people. And better people have wished death on me.
I have refined that hate into strength. The strength to keep the baseball team I own in its rightful place.
₩arkMohlers
Dang got my whole comment thread deleted. Nevertheless, i will pay for As news to be block unless its in the case of a fisher being maimed in a car crash.
PronounsRUS
Real fans would uproot themselves and move to Vegas instead of just complaining.
Paleobros
I’m assuming you’re being funny, but just in case, people love a team because they love their city, and that team represents that city.
PronounsRUS
It’s not a coincidence every sports team has left that city. Those people there don’t love anything except playing the victim
JayRyder
In other news – The Sacramento A’s are planning a to play a month of the season in Antarctica next year. Stay Tuned. ! Teams to be announced.
Bart Harley Jarvis
I’m not sure anyone is complaining, as much as they’re just enjoying taking a well deserved shat on John Fisher.
CarolinaCubsandKush
Still one of the most embarrassing situations in MLB right now. Probably most embarrassing. Good luck luring any decent names to a minor league park.
Nevrfolow
There must be an increase in revenue sharing to where they’re obligated to spend more.
holecamels35
Wouldn’t help a ton if they spend it on more garbage like Alex Wood and Stripling who are no better than a random minor league arm. They should try to sign a few better pitchers and maybe work on long term deals for Rooker, Bleday, and Langeliers.
inkstainedscribe
I don’t know what the Sacramento ballpark looks like, but I can say firsthand the Durham Bulls Athletic Park provides a better fan environment than the Oakland Mausoleum. The player facilities will have to be upgraded, of course.
VicM
Have fun watching in Sac when it’s over 100 degrees and no shade.
FOmeOLS
Has anybody thought about how much fun that stadium will be? It’s “old-school” in the best possible way.: small, intimate, not a bad seat in the house, a maximum of 14,000 people, you could probably introduce yourself to everyone there. Very little of the massive dome mausoleum stadiums that most teams have. No stupid giant TV screens, no dot race.
I am looking forward to attending a couple of games there next summer even though I live several states away.
Terrible thing to do to the Oakland Faithful, though…
PronounsRUS
A foul ball could kill someone.
ohyeadam
You can only go up when you’re at rock bottom. 5 players to replace. 3 bounce backs averaging ~$5m and a bunch of AAAA dreamers for the other two
EM41
Fisher will give A’s players two free pairs of Levi jeans to attract free agents
Warden of the North(acoss13)
Fisher will give all players free access to the vending machines, that’ll lure players to the team!
holecamels35
I wouldn’t be surprised if veterans would be excited to play there, seems like a fun team. A few good young guys, zero/low pressure, cool coach, can think of a lot worse ways to work.
Warden of the North(acoss13)
Better situation than the White Sox…