Athletics

Nick Kurtz is reportedly heading to The Show.

Per ESPN's Alden Gonzalez, the Athletics are calling the first baseman up to the majors. Kurtz was the No. 4 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft and played just 32 games in the minor leagues before the call-up.

In 12 games with the Athletics' Single-A and Double-A affiliates last year, Kurtz had four home runs, 13 RBI and a .368 average before hitting .353 in the Arizona Fall League. In 20 games this season, Kurtz has collected seven homers, 24 RBI and a .321 average at the Triple-A level.

Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter had Kurtz ranked as the No. 42 overall prospect heading into the 2025 season.

Per MLB.com's Martín Gallegos, Kurtz will become the sixth-fastest player in franchise history to be called up, only behind Mike Morgan, Tom Conroy, Ariel Prieto, Rich Bordi and Scott Meyer.

He will be the third player from the 2024 MLB draft to make his debut, joining Cam Smith and Ryan Johnson, who made the Houston Astros and Los Angeles Angels Opening Day rosters, respectively.

While Kurtz may be on his way to the majors, it's unclear what position he'll be in once he gets there. He's a solid defensive first baseman, but the Athletics have Tyler Soderstrom in that position. Soderstrom, 23, is having a breakout year with nine homers and 19 RBI through 22 games.

According to Gonzalez, manager Mark Kotsay said earlier this month that one option could be a rotation at first base, designated hitter and left field between Kurtz, Soderstrom and Brent Rooker.

The A's are 10-12 on the season as they head into a three-game home series against the Texas Rangers starting on Tuesday. It's unclear when Kurtz will make his debut.

The Athletics are one step closer to their eventual move to Las Vegas.

A's president Marc Badain revealed that the team is on track for a June groundbreaking of a new stadium in Las Vegas, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN).

The ballpark will cost $1.75 billion and is expected to have a capacity of 33,000.

"Locally, everybody knows this project's going to happen," Badain said, via ESPN. "Nationally, there are a lot of skeptics. There will always be a lot of skeptics. There's a lot of people that make a living out of questioning the success of sports venues and what they actually do for a community. You're never going to eradicate that negativity. It's just out there."

The new stadium is expected to open ahead of the 2028 MLB season. Until then, the Athletics have started playing their home games at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento and will do so for at least the next two years.

The groundbreaking took another step forward when Clark County commissioners approved land-use permits on April 2 (via Mick Akers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal). The permits included those for recreational or entertainment facility, live entertainment, outdoor dining, drinking and cooking.

The A's previously unveiled renderings of the ballpark, featuring a partially-retractable roof and outdoor cable net glass wall.

The Athletics' new stadium will be built at the site of the old location of the Tropicana Las Vegas on the Las Vegas Strip.

The Athletics won't be playing in Las Vegas during the 2025 season, but they'll be wearing patches featuring the city's name ahead of their upcoming move.

The A's unveiled the new patches in a pair of social media posts on Friday.

The added feature on the team's uniforms are part of a three-year deal between the A’s and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, per Evan Drellich of The Athletic.

After leaving Oakland, the Athletics will be moving to Las Vegas but aren't able to do so until the 2028 season as their new stadium is still being built. They'll play at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento, home to the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats, until construction is complete.

Although wearing patches featuring Las Vegas while playing in Sacramento for the next three seasons may be viewed as unusual, Athletics owner John Fisher wanted to keep the team's upcoming move in mind.

“We’re going to be partners for a very, very long time, and we really thought that during these three years of interim play in Sacramento that celebrating coming to Vegas was something that was really important,” Fisher said, via Drellich.

The team will also be wearing patches supporting Sacramento as well.

The A's will look to adapt to the change of scenery quickly and improve upon their 69-93 record in 2024 when their 2025 campaign begins on March 27.

The Athletics revealed new renderings of their proposed Las Vegas ballpark at the Las Vegas Stadium Authority meeting on Thursday, per Nick Walters of KTNV Channel 13 Las Vegas.

Per Doug Puppel of Engineering News-Record, the stadium is estimated to cost $1.75 billion, with groundbreaking set for mid-2025. The current timeline has the building being ready in early 2028.

The stadium is being built at the old location of the Tropicana Las Vegas on the Las Vegas Strip.

Per athletics.com, the new ballpark will have "the closest seats to home plate and the smallest foul territory" in the majors. In the hot Vegas heat, the stadium also promises an "outdoor feel with a climate-controlled interior" and an "outdoor cable net glass wall featuring iconic views of the Strip."

The Athletics will mark the fourth major professional sports team in Vegas, following the WNBA's Aces, the NHL's Golden Knights and the NFL's Raiders.

In the interim, the Athletics, which ended their 57-year tenure in Oakland this past year, will play in Sacramento's Sutter Health Park, home of the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats.

The Athletics are adding a nod to the team's temporary new home to their 2025 uniforms.

Players will wear a patch featuring an image of the Tower Bridge above the word "Sacramento" next season, the A's announced Friday.

The A's will also wear a patch featuring Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson's No. 24 throughout the 2025 season, according to the team.

Henderson, who spent four separate stretches with the A's and won the 1989 World Series with the team, died in December at age 65.

The Athletics expect to play at Sutter Health Park, home of the San Francisco Giants' Triple-A affiliate Sacramento River Cats, during the 2025 season ahead of a future move to Las Vegas.

The club currently plans to play three seasons in Sacramento before relocating to Nevada ahead of the 2028 season.

The team's residence in Sacramento includes an option for a fourth season in case the move is delayed until 2029. Construction has not yet begun on the proposed $1.75 billion ballpark project in Las Vegas.

The minor league ballpark is undergoing renovations this offseason amid its preparations to host a Major League club, including the construction of a new clubhouse and the renovation of a natural grass field.

The Athletics are refraining from adding their city to their team name, at least for now.

The club announced in November that the club would drop "Oakland" from its name and simply go by the Athletics, with "A's" as its primary logo, in 2025.

Instead of adding "Sacramento" to their name or uniform front, the team apparently plans instead to recognize the city with the patch. The addition appears to be replacing the elephant patch formerly worn by A's players on their left sleeves.

Fans in attendance on Opening Day will receive a hat featuring the Sacramento patch as well as a rally towel showing the Henderson's number, according to the team. The A's are set to play at Sutter Health Park for the first time March 31 against the Chicago Cubs.

The Athletics made a suprising early splash in free agency after they "faced some pressure" to do so, according to ESPN's Jorge Castillo.

Per Castillo, the free-agent acquisition of starting pitcher Luis Severino was "widely viewed as a significant overpay" around the majors.

The Athletics signed Severino to a three-year, $67 million contract on Dec. 5. The deal given to the right-hander contained the largest guarantee in the franchise's history.

The agreement also includes an opt-out following the 2026 season.

Severino is coming off a resurgent year with the New York Mets, finishing with a record of 11-7 to go along with a 3.91 ERA and 1.242 WHIP. He recorded 161 strikeouts and 60 walks in 182 innings of work.

Still, he admitted that he was surprised by the Athletics' offer.

"Neither I nor my agent were expecting them to offer a contract of that magnitude," Severino said, per ESPN's Alden Gonzalez. "It was impressive."

The $22.3 million average annual value of his deal ranks No. 17 among all starters for the 2025 season, via Spotrac.

A's general manager David Forst also recognized the hefty contract offer after the deal was signed.

"We wanted to make something of a statement coming into a new city and coming into a new ballpark," Forst said, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN). "But more than that, to improve on what we have."

After playing in Oakland from 1968 through the 2024 season, the Athletics will be calling Sutter Health Park in Sacramento home from the start of their 2025 season until the end of their 2027 campaign before moving to Las Vegas.

The A's have remained active during the offseason, giving a new five-year, $60 million contract to slugger Brent Rooker on Jan. 7.

As the Athletics attempt to improve upon a 69-93 record in 2024, they're spending much more compared to past years. All of their offseason moves haven't been met with unanimous approval, though.

Oakland Athletics and slugger Brent Rooker have reached a new agreement on a contract worth $60 million over five years, sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan.

The contract features a sixth-year option worth $22 million, which could increase based on performance.

The 30-year-old designated hitter recorded 39 home runs and drove in 112 RBI with a .293 batting average during the A's 69-93 season last year.

The A's were aiming to secure Rooker's contract extension in early December, with general manager David Forst noting "good dialogue" from his agent during initial discussions, according to MLB's Martín Gallegos.

The Athletic's manager, Mark Kotsay, also suggested that the team was prioritizing re-signing Rooker to a potential contract extension.

"He's pretty unbelievable," Kotsay said of Rooker after the team's final game of the season, per Gallegos. "We don't talk enough about the perseverance of this kid's career. As long as it took him to find a home and establish himself as a centerpiece to an offense, it's pretty remarkable for him to put together two seasons the way he has. I'm looking forward to the future for him here."

It's a new era for the Athletics.

Sam Blum and Evan Drellich of the Athletic reported that Athletics team president Dave Kaval resigned from his position after an eight-year tenure with the franchise. This comes as the team prepares to move to Sacramento for several seasons before officially moving to Las Vegas.

"We are grateful for Dave's contributions and leadership over the past eight years," owner John Fisher said in a statement. "He guided our organization through a period of significant transition, and we sincerely thank him for his unwavering commitment to the team."

Prior to his tenure with the Athletics, Kaval served as the president of the San Jose Earthquakes of MLS from 2010 to 2016, with his biggest accomplishment being successfully building a stadium for that franchise. He is first season with the Athletics was in 2017 and he was hired with the idea of getting a new stadium built.

The Athletics tried multiple stadium projects in Oakland before deciding to move, with notably proposals being the Howard Terminal site and one in downtown Oakland. The decision to relocate comes after the franchise was in Oakland from 1968-2024 and won 15 pennants and four World Series titles.

During Kaval's time with the franchise, the Athletics went 570-624 and reached the postseason three times.

Athletics general manager David Forst revealed the team's reasoning behind signing free-agent starting pitcher Luis Severino to a historic contract on Thursday.

"We wanted to make something of a statement coming into a new city and coming into a new ballpark," Forst said, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN). "But more than that, to improve on what we have. Signing someone with Luis's experience to be a leader was important to us."

Severino joined the Athletics on a three-year, $67 million contract.

ESPN's Jeff Passan noted that it's the largest guarantee in the history of the A's franchise, surpassing the previous record of $66 million held by former third baseman Eric Chavez in 2004.

The contract also includes an opt-out after the 2026 season.

After calling Oakland home from 1968 through 2024, the Athletics will be playing home games at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento from 2025-27 before eventually moving to Las Vegas.

With the team's upcoming change of scenery, Forst wanted to add a rotation upgrade as the A's attempt to build upon a 69-93 record in 2024.

Severino is coming off a bounce-back campaign with the New York Mets, as injuries limited his time on the mound near the end of his career as a member of the New York Yankees. In 31 starts on the Mets last year, he finished with a 3.91 ERA to go along with a record of 11-7.

The 30-year-old also racked up 161 strikeouts, his highest total since his last All-Star campaign with the Yankees in 2018. Severino's consistency throughout the year helped the Mets finish with 89 wins and make a National League Championship Series appearance.

As the Athletics prepare to host games in Sacramento, they made a major addition to the top of their rotation on Thursday.