Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Athletics Rumors

A’s Announce Las Vegas Jersey Patch Sponsorship

By | at

The A’s announced on Friday evening that they’ve reached a three-year advertising partnership with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA). As part of the agreement, they’ll have “Las Vegas” jersey patches on their uniform sleeves during their three seasons in Sacramento. The A’s will wear a Sacramento patch on the opposite arm for at least the 2025 season.

“For the Athletics, this partnership is more than just a jersey patch—it’s the beginning of the transition to our new home,” A’s owner John Fisher said in a press release. “This is a chance to wear our hearts on our sleeves for the next three years before bringing the vibrant spirit of our new home front and center across our uniform.”

Steve Hill, the head of the LVCVA, tells Evan Drellich of The Athletic that the deal will pay the A’s $8.25MM over the next three seasons: $2.5MM this season, $2.75MM next year, and $3MM in 2028. Hill acknowledged that it’s rare for a team to don an advertisement for a city in which they’re not currently playing.

“Frankly, one of the reasons that something like this hasn’t been done, at least for a team that’s moving, is that they’re still in the city they’re moving from,” Hill told Drellich. “We couldn’t have done this with the Raiders (who moved directly from Oakland to Las Vegas in 2020), for example, because it would have just been rude. They’re in the city they’re moving from, and that’s kind of in your face, just not appropriate. But because (the A’s are) moving to Sacramento for three years before coming here, it opened up that possibility of doing that.”

The A’s plan to break ground on their 33,000-seat stadium in Las Vegas within the next few months. The team released their latest set of renderings for that facility on Thursday (link via Mick Akers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal). Newly-hired club president Marc Badain told Drellich on Thursday that he has “no doubts on that at all” when asked if the ballpark will be ready in time for the 2028 season.

Athletics Announce Marc Badain As New President

By | at

The Athletics announced that Marc Badain will be the club’s new president, per Mick Akers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Badain is most notable for having previously been president of the NFL’s Raiders, who moved to Las Vegas in his time in that job. He will replace Dave Kaval, who announced his resignation from the position in December. Sandy Dean was named interim president when Kaval stepped down but will now serve as vice chairman.

“We are excited to welcome Marc to the Athletics,” A’s owner John Fisher said in a statement. “His vast experience, particularly his work on the opening of Allegiant Stadium and overseeing the Raiders’ move to Las Vegas, makes him a great addition to our team at this pivotal moment. His leadership, commitment to the community, and ability to oversee transformative projects will be key as we look to build a strong and successful future in Southern Nevada.”

Badain served as president of the Raiders from 2013 to 2021. At the start of that time frame, the Raiders played their home games in Oakland Coliseum, sharing the facility with the Athletics. Looking for a new stadium, the Raiders started to explore the possibility of moving to Las Vegas in 2015. Those plans gradually became reality and the move was approved in 2017, though the Raiders stayed in Oakland through the end of the 2019 NFL season, moving into their new stadium in Vegas in 2020.

Badain then resigned in 2021. Per a report from Daniel Kaplan and Tashan Reed of The Athletic in October of 2021, Raiders owner Mark Davis said that “accounting irregularities” prompted the resignation. He said the team “overpaid our taxes…we paid more than we owe,” a matter that “may have started in Oakland.” Badain has since been working with the Oak View Group, trying to build a hotel and casino complex with a venue capable of hosting an NBA team.

Controversial finish aside, there are some clear parallels between his Raiders tenure and the current state of the Athletics. The A’s are in a similar position to where the Raiders were a few years ago. The baseball club is planning to play out of a new stadium in Vegas starting with the 2028 season. They failed to work out a deal to stay in Oakland beyond the end of their 2024 lease of the Coliseum, so they are going to play out of Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento for the 2025-27 seasons. That is normally the home of the Sacramento River Cats, the Triple-A affiliate of the Giants. The A’s and River Cats plan to share the park for the next three years.

The detour to West Sacramento is a notable difference, but the journey of the two franchises is otherwise quite similar. Since Badain has already steered one franchise from the Oakland Coliseum to a new facility in Las Vegas, the A’s seem to be banking on his experience to guide them through the process in the coming years.

“I’m honored to join the Athletics and help guide the team into a new era of success,” Badain said in the news release. “Las Vegas is a city that celebrates innovation and excellence, and I’m excited to work alongside the team, the fans, and the community to create something extraordinary.”

A’s Shut Brady Basso Down Due To Shoulder Strain

By | at

The A’s have shut southpaw Brady Basso down for the time being due to a shoulder strain, per Martin Gallegos of MLB.com. There’s currently no timetable for his return to throwing.

While Basso wasn’t guaranteed a spot on the Opening Day roster — he still has a pair of minor league option years remaining — his solid rookie showing in 2024 put him in position to genuinely compete to break camp. A 16th-round pick back in 2019, Basso pitched the first 22 1/3 innings of his MLB career last season and logged a 4.03 earned run average with a 20.4% strikeout rate, 5.4% walk rate and 42% grounder rate. That came on the heels of a 4.55 ERA, 27.5 K% and 6.3 BB% in 93 innings (18 starts, four relief appearances) between Double-A and Triple-A.

The Athletics currently have Luis Severino, Jeffrey Springs and JP Sears locked into rotation spots. Last season’s Rule 5 pick, Mitch Spence, very likely pitched his way into the fourth rotation spot with a nice rookie effort. Basso was in competition with Osvaldo Bido, Joey Estes, J.T. Ginn and Hogan Harris for a remaining rotation spot. It’s also possible he could’ve cracked the bullpen as a second lefty alongside veteran T.J. McFarland.

Through the first few weeks of camp, Basso had only strengthened his case. While Ginn, Bido and Estes have been hit hard and Harris has struggled with his command, Basso has rattled off 4 1/3 scoreless — and hitless — innings. He’s only allowed one of 14 opponents to reach (a walk) and had fanned four batters. Things can change in a hurry in a small spring sample, but to this point he could scarcely have done more with the opportunities he’d been given.

The A’s will have more information on his timeline for recovery in the days and weeks ahead, but a shutdown at this point effectively takes him out of the running for the Opening Day roster. If there’s a strain of any real significance, Basso could be a 60-day IL candidate the next time the team needs a 40-man roster spot, but that’ll hinge on the forthcoming prognosis and recovery timetable.

A’s Continuing To Give Tyler Soderstrom Catching Reps

By | at

The A’s remain open to the possibility of using Tyler Soderstrom as their backup catcher, manager Mark Kotsay tells Martín Gallegos of MLB.com. The former first-round pick got the start behind the dish in yesterday’s Spring Training matchup with Seattle.

“What we talked about with Tyler is continuing to keep that skill set,” Kotsay told Gallegos. “It gives us an opportunity to have a player that provides maybe a role for us that would allow maybe another bench spot.” The A’s will use Shea Langeliers as their starting catcher for the third consecutive season. They would gain some bench flexibility if they’re comfortable with the 23-year-old Soderstrom as Langeliers’ backup. Otherwise, he’d be the primary first baseman.

Soderstrom was drafted as a bat-first catching prospect out of high school in 2020. His bat pushed him quickly through the minor leagues. He’s a .272/.339/.532 hitter in the minors. Soderstrom hasn’t found anywhere near that level of success against big league pitching. He owns a .204/.282/.354 line with a 27.4% strikeout rate over 351 plate appearances.

Most of his big league work has come as a first baseman. Soderstrom has caught a little more than 1200 innings over four minor league seasons. He made 15 starts behind the dish for the A’s during his 2023 rookie season. He got another 21 starts as a catcher in Triple-A last year, but they didn’t give him any MLB starts there.

The youngster’s only MLB catching experience last year was a four-inning appearance in a game in which that day’s starting catcher Kyle McCann was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the fifth inning. Langeliers was the designated hitter. If the A’s wanted to have him catch after pulling McCann, they’d have forfeited their DH for the rest of the game. Soderstrom, who had started at first base, moved to catcher.

The A’s clearly didn’t feel his glove was up to par last year. They kept McCann on the major league roster as the backup all season. Langeliers started 123 games, second-most at the position behind Cal Raleigh. McCann made the other 39 starts. Soderstrom’s four-inning appearance was the only catching work by any other player.

The A’s already shook that up last month, designating McCann for assignment while acquiring Jhonny Pereda in a cash trade with Miami. Langeliers and Pereda are the only primary catchers on the 40-man roster. That’d very likely be Kotsay’s season-opening duo if they’re still apprehensive about Soderstrom’s glove. If they’re comfortable with Soderstrom behind the plate, he could pick up around 40 starts there while playing first base on days when Langeliers is rested. That’d allow the A’s to option Pereda and carry another infielder or outfielder on the active roster.

McCann cleared waivers and is in camp as a non-roster invitee. The A’s could reselect his contract at any point, but he’s behind Pereda on the depth chart. The 28-year-old Pereda only has 20 games of major league experience. He’s a .293/.385/.408 hitter over four Triple-A seasons and has a stronger defensive reputation than McCann brings.

Who Else Could The A’s Look To Extend?

By | at

Last week, Evan Drellich of The Athletic reported that the A's had opened extension negotiations with outfielder Lawrence Butler. General manager David Forst declined comment on Butler specifically but implied that he's not the only player with whom they've had discussions.

"We’ve had conversations with a couple other players other than (already-extended DH Brent Rooker), and those talks are ongoing," Forst told Drellich. "It is an important thing for us to lock guys up (heading) into Las Vegas and make sure that we keep the core of what we think is a really good young team together, ongoing."

MLBTR covered Butler's extension candidacy at the time of Drellich's report. With Forst's comments in mind, it's worth taking a speculative look at who else the A's may try to sign over the next few weeks.

Unlock Subscriber-Exclusive Articles Like This One With a Trade Rumors Front Office Subscription

BENEFITS
  • Access weekly subscriber-only articles by Tim Dierkes, Steve Adams, and Anthony Franco.
  • Join exclusive weekly live chats with Anthony.
  • Remove ads and support our writers.
  • Access GM-caliber tools like our MLB Contract Tracker

Athletics Sign Dylan Floro To Minor League Deal

By | at

5:03pm: The A’s announced that they have signed Floro to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training.

1:50pm: Veteran right-hander Dylan Floro has a locker set up in the Athletics’ clubhouse, reports Martin Gallegos of MLB.com. It’s not clear whether he’s come to terms on a major league or minor league contract, but some type of deal between the two sides is in place. Floro is represented by Pro Edge Sports Management. If the A’s need to add him to the 40-man roster, they can do so easily by sliding Ken Waldichuk to the 60-day injured list while he continues rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.

Floro, 34, split the 2024 season between the Nationals and D-backs, combining for 68 innings of 3.80 ERA ball. Those solid end-of-year numbers don’t tell the full tale of his season, however. The nine-year MLB veteran excelled in D.C., logging a pristine 2.06 earned run average through 52 1/3 innings. Floro’s 19.6% strikeout rate was well below average, but his 6.4% walk rate was excellent and his 47.6% grounder rate was sharp. However, the big driver of his success was a 2.2% homer-to-flyball ratio (one homer in 52 1/3 innings).

The rate stats painted Floro as a regression candidate, and while the Snakes surely weren’t expecting him to continue on with a rough 2.00 ERA pace, the extent to which the pendulum swung in the opposite direction with Arizona was nonetheless shocking. Floro was shelled for 17 earned runs — five more than he allowed in his entire Nationals tenure —  in 16 1/3 innings. After surrendering just one homer through 204 batters faced as a National, Floro served up round-trippers to four of the 75 opponents he faced wearing a D-backs uniform. Arizona wound up designating Floro for assignment and releasing him in late September.

Though Floro’s home run suppression in Washington last year was clearly unsustainable, the veteran righty has demonstrated throughout his big league career that he’s better at keeping the ball in the yard than quite literally any pitcher in MLB. Outside of the 2017 season, when he logged only 9 2/3 MLB innings, Floro has never averaged even one homer per nine innings pitched. Opponents have mustered only 0.54 homers per nine frames against Floro throughout his 402 2/3 big league innings. Since his 2016 debut, 259 pitchers have tossed 400 or more innings. None has a lower HR/9 mark than Floro (making his Arizona struggles all the more surprising).

It should be noted that Floro’s struggles with the Diamondbacks weren’t simply a function of poor luck, however. The right-hander also worked with significantly diminished stuff in 2024. He’s never been a flamethrower, but Floro sat 92.9 mph with his heater from 2020-23 — including a 92.3 mark in ’23. Last year, that average velocity plummeted to 89.8 mph, per Statcast. His sinker (93.1 mph from 2020-23) followed suit, tumbling to 89.9 mph on average. Floro’s slider and changeup both sat 85-86 mph in 2020-23 but landed at 83.3 mph and 83.5 mph, respectively, in 2024.

If Floro can restore some of that lost velocity or simply pitch more effectively with reduced stuff, he has the track record to suggest he can be a valuable piece in manager Mark Kotsay’s bullpen. Since solidifying himself as a big league reliever with the Reds and Dodgers in 2018, Floro boasts a 3.38 ERA, 32 saves and 53 holds. His 21.1% strikeout rate in that time is a couple percentage points worse than average, but his 7.2% walk rate is more than a percentage point better than par and his 50.4% ground-ball mark is quite strong.

The Athletics’ bullpen is anchored by star closer Mason Miller and free agent signee Jose Leclerc. Miller, Leclerc and lefty T.J. McFarland are the only three members of the A’s bullpen with even one full year of service. Floro would add a fourth experienced veteran who could help with setup duties and take pressure off minor league free agent pickups Tyler Ferguson and Michel Otañez, both of whom found their way into late-inning roles last season despite debuting as 31-year-old and 27-year-old rookies, respectively.

A’s, Lawrence Butler In Ongoing Extension Negotiations

By | at

The A’s have opened extension discussions with outfielder Lawrence Butler, reports Evan Drellich of The Athletic. General manager David Forst confirmed to Drellich that the team is engaged in extension talks with multiple players, though he unsurprisingly didn’t specify which ones.

Butler is a logical target. The 24-year-old had a big season to emerge as a key piece of a developing offensive core. Butler hit .262/.317/.490 with 24 doubles, two triples, and a pair of home runs through 451 plate appearances. He went a perfect 18-18 on stolen base attempts. The positives were almost all concentrated in a monster second half. Butler raked at a .300/.345/.553 clip with 13 homers and 32 extra-base hits after the All-Star Break.

The lefty-swinging Butler had entered the break as a career .205/.260/.337 hitter. He had struck out at close to a 30% clip to that point. He sliced the strikeout rate by nearly 10 percentage points in the second half. By measure of wRC+, Butler was among the ten most productive qualified hitters in the majors during that stretch.

There’s still a relatively small sample of major league success. Butler’s productivity against MLB pitching is essentially limited to three months. An extension would be a bet on the A’s part that the second half represented a legitimate breakout. There’s an argument to wait and see if Butler can maintain that level of production over a full season. At the same time, that’d run the risk of him dramatically raising his earning power with another strong year.

Butler narrowly surpassed one year of major league service. He’s under club control for five seasons and two years from arbitration eligibility. The A’s control him through his age-28 season. There have been a few extensions for hitters in that service range in recent years. Rockies shortstop Ezequiel Tovar inked a seven-year, $63.5MM deal as he entered his age-22 season last spring. Nationals catcher Keibert Ruiz signed for eight years and $50MM as a 24-year-old two seasons ago. The Pirates inked third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes to an eight-year, $70MM extension coming out of the 2022 lockout.

Those players all play more impactful positions. Tovar and Hayes were plus defenders on the left side of the infield. Ruiz is a catcher. Butler played some center field as a rookie, but he’s stretched at the position. The A’s kept him in right field last season. He posted average defensive marks in just under 1000 innings in the corner. Butler has demonstrated offensive upside beyond what anyone from the Tovar, Hayes or Ruiz group had shown at the time of their deals, however. His camp could aim for something approaching the Tovar/Hayes guarantees, though it remains to be seen if the A’s would make that kind of investment without a larger body of work.

The A’s have historically shied away from early-career extensions. As shown on MLBTR’s contract tracker, they haven’t extended a pre-arbitration player since inking Sean Doolittle to a $10MM guarantee more than a decade ago. This offseason has been a huge exception to their typical operating procedure. They signed Luis Severino to a three-year, $67MM free agent deal that represents the largest investment in franchise history. They followed by signing Brent Rooker to a five-year, $60MM extension as his arbitration window was opening.

The club also acquired Jeffrey Springs in a trade with Tampa Bay, assuming the remaining two years and $21.75MM on his deal. They dropped $10MM to bring in setup man José Leclerc via free agency. The A’s were reportedly targeting a competitive balance tax number of at least $105MM to ensure they didn’t forfeit their status as revenue sharing recipients. RosterResource estimates their CBT number around $107MM, so they’ve hit that mark, but it seems there’s still payroll space.

Rooker, Severino and Springs are the only players signed beyond this season. Rooker is the only player locked into the 2027 roster. The A’s hold a club option on Springs, while Severino has an opt-out during the 2026-27 offseason. There’s plenty of long-term flexibility, raising the possibility of extending multiple young players. Beyond Butler, catcher Shea Langeliers, shortstop Jacob Wilson, and center fielder JJ Bleday stand out as speculative extension candidates.

Jim Todd Passes Away

By | at

Former major league pitcher Jim Todd passed away earlier this month at 77. A right-handed reliever, he pitched six seasons in the majors during the 1970s.

The Cubs selected Todd in the ’69 draft coming out of Millersville University in Pennsylvania. He was a starter throughout his minor league career but moved to the bullpen upon reaching the majors in 1974. Todd pitched to a 3.89 earned run average across 88 innings for the Cubs as a rookie. Chicago dealt him to the A’s that offseason.

Todd had his best season for Oakland in 1975. He recorded 12 saves while turning in a 2.29 ERA over 122 innings out of the bullpen. He received a down-ballot MVP vote in the process. Todd pitched in all three games of the ’75 AL Championship Series. Oakland was swept by the Red Sox in what would be his only career playoff action. Todd spent another four years in the majors, alternating good and bad seasons while splitting his time between the A’s, Cubs and Mariners.

Over parts of six seasons, Todd posted a 4.23 earned run average across 511 major league innings. He struck out 194 hitters, picked up 25 wins, and recorded 24 saves. He finished 119 of 270 career appearances. According to his obituary, Todd had a career in real estate after his playing days concluded. MLBTR sends our condolences to his family, friends, loved ones and former teammates.

Athletics Sign Luis Urias

By | at

The A’s announced Monday that they’ve signed infielder Luis Urias to a one-year contract. There’s a reported $1.1MM guarantee for the Wasserman client. The deal also performance bonuses, including $150K apiece at 200, 300, 350, 400, and 500 plate appearances. Righty Luis Medina, who is recovering from UCL surgery, was moved to the 60-day injured list in a corresponding move.

Urias, 27, drew some interest from the Twins within the past couple weeks as well, but they opted to instead add Ty France to their infield mix, ostensibly filling the last spot on their expected roster. He’ll instead give the A’s some cover at multiple positions, providing needed insurance given an infield full of question marks.

The A’s are hoping for rebound efforts from both second baseman Zack Gelof and third base frontrunner Gio Urshela, who inked a big league deal earlier this winter. They’re also relying on young Jacob Wilson at shortstop, and while he’s a former top-10 pick and regarded as one of MLB’s top 50 or so prospects, he still has only 103 big league plate appearances to his credit.

Urias spent the 2024 season with the Mariners but fared poorly in a platoon setup with Josh Rojas. In just 109 big league plate appearances, the former Padres top prospect hit .191/.303/.394. That was the second straight season with a sub-.200 average for Urias. He was an above-average producer in a near full-time role with the Brewers from 2021-22, hitting .244/.340/.426 with 39 homers in 1042 plate appearances, but Urias has seen his strikeout, ground-ball and pop-up rates spike in the two years since that solid run.

Defensively, Urias has more than 1000 innings of big league experience at each of second base, shortstop and third base. Metrics like Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average cast him as a substantially below-average defender at short, however, and the Brewers clearly agreed, moving him off the position permanently back in 2022. He’s been average at second per both DRS and OAA, while the former metric pegs him as plus at third base to the latter’s slightly negative review.

That versatility could also line Urias up to fill a traditional utility role. The A’s currently have light-hitting Max Schuemann and prospect Darell Hernaiz as options for that role on the 40-man roster. Neither has hit in the majors, however, and both have just a year of big league time under their belts (slightly less for Hernaiz, actually) — despite the fact that Schuemann is only eight days younger than Urias.

Martin Gallegos of MLB.com first reported that Urias was in the A’s clubhouse. Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 had the salary and bonuses.

A’s, Mark Kotsay Agree To Extension

By | at

9:52am: The A’s announced Kotsay’s extension.

9:42am: The A’s and manager Mark Kotsay have agreed to a three-year contract extension, reports Martin Gallegos of MLB.com. The new contract spans the 2026-28 seasons and gives the A’s a club option over the 2029 campaign. The A’s exercised a 2025 club option on Kotsay back in November, but he was unsigned beyond the current season prior to this new agreement.

Kotsay, 49, has helmed the A’s since 2022 and was the team’s bench coach and quality control coach for the five prior seasons. He also spent four seasons of 17-year major league career in green and gold — including perhaps the best season of his career, in 2004, when he hit .314/.370/.459 as the Athletics’ everyday center fielder.

Though Kotsay’s managerial record is an ugly 179-307, win-loss records rarely tell the full tale of a manager’s success (or lack thereof). That’s all the more true of a rebuilding club. The A’s have made virtually no effort to field a competitive roster throughout Kotsay’s tenure. The focus has been on culling payroll, acquiring/developing young players and, from a bigger picture standpoint, finalizing the relocation process that’s currently landed them in West Sacramento. The idea is to move to Las Vegas for the 2028 season, which would be Kotsay’s final guaranteed year on the current contract.

Expectations for Kotsay will rise during his second contract with the club. The A’s have spent more on the 2025 roster than at any point in recent seasons, due in part to foster interest with a new temporary fanbase in Sacramento but more so due to the threat of having their status as a revenue-sharing recipient revoked for the second time in the past decade. The A’s have signed Luis Severino, Jose Leclerc, Gio Urshela, T.J. McFarland and apparently Luis Urias in free agency, and they swung a trade to bring left-hander Jeffrey Springs over from Tampa Bay as well. Those acquisitions, plus a five-year extension for slugger Brent Rooker, have added $162MM in new long-term money to the team’s books, including more than $45MM for the upcoming 2025 season.

While the Athletics’ roughly $74MM payroll and $106MM luxury-tax number still sit at or near the bottom of the league overall, it’s still a small uptick from recent seasons; from 2022-24, the A’s ran payrolls between $50-65MM and never reached even an $85MM CBT number.

The new additions will join a burgeoning core of interesting young hitters. The late-blooming Rooker is the Athletics’ lineup cornerstone, but outfielders JJ Bleday and Lawrence Butler have blossomed at the plate, while prospects Jacob Wilson, Zack Gelof and Tyler Soderstrom have shown varying flashes of upside at shortstop, second base and first base, respectively. Shea Langeliers doesn’t get on base much, but his 29 homers in 2024 were second among all major league catchers, trailing only division-rival Cal Raleigh (34) up in Seattle. On the pitching side of things, lefty JP Sears looks like a solid innings eater at the very least, while closer Mason Miller has emerged as one of the game’s premier bullpen arms.

The A’s won’t enter the 2025 season as a favorite in the AL West by any stretch of the word, but they’re in a better position that any point since their latest rebuild kicked off — even though the slate of trades shipping out Matt Olson, Matt Chapman, Sean Manaea, Frankie Montas, Chris Bassitt, A.J. Puk, Lou Trivino and others hasn’t actually yielded many of the club’s current core contributors. (Langeliers came over in the Olson swap; Bleday was acquired for Puk.)

For the time being, the focus in West Sacramento will largely be on coaxing further development from Butler, Bleday, Wilson, Gelof, Soderstrom and looming first baseman of the future Nick Kurtz. Before long, however, the A’s will likely be expected to take a legitimate step forward — particularly if payroll continues to rise ahead of the planned move to the Las Vegas Strip. Ownership has clearly determined that Kotsay is the right person to spearhead those efforts and that such continuity will yield similar gains to the ones enjoyed in 2024, when the A’s improved by 19 games over their 2023 record due largely to improvements from players already in house.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrows scroll to top