Athletics

The Oakland Athletics are contemplating a move out of California, and Las Vegas is considered a potential landing spot for the Major League Baseball franchise should it depart the Bay Area.

Oakland's Triple-A affiliate, the Aviators, is already located in Las Vegas, and Aviators president and COO Don Logan believes the A's have "a better opportunity here in the long term," he told ESPN Saturday.

"Las Vegas had always been a unique sports market, a really good sports market," Logan said. "It makes sense. My perspective: Make the best deal you can in Vegas and start to turn this community on. And every other [fanbase] on.

"Las Vegas offers a dynamic that no other team has. We have 45 million visitors annually in this market, and that's what we want: heads in beds. That's what Las Vegas is about."

The Athletics' lease on the Oakland Coliseum—where they have played since moving from Kansas City in 1968—is set to expire after the 2024 season. In 2021, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred gave the franchise permission to pursue relocation after deeming the Coliseum unfit for the club's future.

Over the last few years, the A's have explored the possibility of building a $1 billion waterfront stadium as part of a $12 billion Howard Terminal project proposal. However, they've hit roadblocks throughout the process, including missing an October deadline for a new stadium deal.

Later that month, Manfred publicly expressed doubt in the Athletics' plans for a ballpark at Howard Terminal. In mid-February, he said the focus had shifted to a potential Las Vegas relocation.

"Look, I think the best way for me to answer that is to say I think that the focus since I spoke to you in December really has been on Las Vegas," Manfred told the San Francisco Chronicle's John Shea.

"The city [of Oakland] has been really caught up in trying to work their way through these funding issues that I'm sure you've read about. But I've talked to [A's managing partner] John Fisher on a regular basis both about what's going on in Oakland and about what's going on in Las Vegas."

A's general manager David Forst said Saturday he's just concerned about having a facility once the Coliseum lease is up.

"I'm hoping the A's get a stadium. I don't take sides," Forst said. "The only thing that affects the way we operate in baseball operations is actually having a facility.

"We really can't spend a lot of time thinking about the where right now."

The A's are considering two sites for a stadium in Las Vegas, according to Mick Akers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal: the Tropicana on the south Strip and the north Strip's Las Vegas Festival Grounds.

If the A's relocate to Las Vegas, they'd be the second Oakland team to move to the Sin City, joining the Las Vegas Raiders, who debuted at Allegiant Stadium in 2020.

The NHL also added an expansion franchise in Las Vegas in 2017, the Vegas Golden Knights, who play at T-Mobile Arena.

The WNBA's Las Vegas Aces have played there since 2018 after moving from San Antonio, Texas, and the NBA has been open to adding an expansion franchise in the Sin City in the future.

Three-time World Series champion Sal Bando has died at age 78.

In a statement released through the Oakland Athletics, Bando's family announced he died Friday after having cancer for five-plus years.

The Milwaukee Brewers, who Bando played with for five seasons, offered their condolences to his family, friends and fans:

A sixth-round draft pick by the Kansas City Athletics in 1965, Bando made his big league debut late in the 1966 season. He became a full-time player at third base for the A's in 1968 after the franchise moved to Oakland.

Over six seasons from 1969 to 1974, Bando finished in the top 30 of American League MVP voting six times and was named to the All-Star team four times. The A's won three consecutive World Series titles from 1972 to '74.

After spending 11 seasons with the A's, Bando signed with the Brewers as a free agent in November 1976. The Arizona State alum appeared in 311 out of 324 possible games in his first two seasons with Milwaukee before he began to slow down physically.

Bando only appeared in 240 games over his final three seasons from 1979 to '81. In his final year, he hit .294/.368/.471 in the AL Division Series against the New York Yankees that the Brewers lost in five games.

Following his retirement as a player, Bando continued to work with the Brewers. He served as their general manager for eight seasons from 1991 to '99 before being reassigned in August 1999.

Bando was inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2013. He was named Most Outstanding Player of the 1965 NCAA baseball tournament after helping the Sun Devils win their first national championship.

The Atlanta Braves have acquired catcher Sean Murphy in a three-team trade with the Oakland Athletics that also involves the Milwaukee Brewers.

Here are the full details of the trade, which was first reported by Jeff Passan of ESPN:

• Braves get: Sean Murphy (C)
• Athletics get: Kyle Muller (LHP), Manny Piña (C), Royber Salinas (RHP), Freddy Tarnok (RHP), Esteury Ruiz (OF)
• Brewers get: William Contreras (C), Joel Payamps (RHP), Justin Yeager (RHP)

Of note, left-handed pitcher Kyle Muller was the Braves' No. 1 prospect on MLB.com.

Murphy finished last season with a .250 batting average, .759 OPS and 18 home runs with 66 RBI. He earned one 10th-place vote for MVP in the American League.

The 28-year-old won a Gold Glove award in 2021.

Murphy has 11 defensive runs saved over the last two years combined, per FanGraphs, and he set a career high with 5.1 wins above replacement last season.

The catcher could post even better numbers after the trade considering his struggles at RingCentral Coliseum in Oakland. Murphy had a .684 OPS in 162 career home games and an .820 mark in 168 games on the road. His batting average was 45 points higher away from home, and he had 12 more home runs and 10 more doubles.

Playing half his games at Atlanta's Truist Park could lead to a bigger breakout in 2023.

Catchers Travis d'Arnaud and Contreras both earned All-Star selections for Atlanta last season and combined to start 156 of 162 regular-season games behind the plate. Acquiring Murphy gives the Braves a defensive upgrade over Contreras and could allow d'Arnaud to spend more time as a designated hitter.

Considering d'Arnaud has never played more than 112 games in a season and a thumb injury limited him to 60 games in 2021, this move should help keep him fresh for the long season.

After going 101-61 last year, the Braves have the firepower to again contend for a World Series title.

Milwaukee gets a major upgrade over Victor Caratini and Omar Narváez at catcher with the addition of Contreras, who hit 20 home runs with a .278 average last year. It should help provide a jolt to the lineup after the Brewers fell short of the playoffs in 2022.

Oakland continues its rebuild after a 60-102 season, dealing Murphy ahead of his first year of arbitration while adding major league-ready prospects in Muller and Tarnok.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said he believes the Oakland Athletics will move to Las Vegas in an interview with SiriusXM Radio's Christopher Russo.

The A's have been in talks with Oakland officials regarding a new ballpark as part of the Howard Terminal project, but a key deadline to get that done passed without any further progress.

Mick Akers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal provided more details on Oct. 3.

"Oakland City Administrator Ed Reiskin said last month that the city and the A’s needed to finalize a development agreement for a proposed $12 billion Howard Terminal project—including a $1 billion waterfront ballpark—by last week. Without that, he said a binding vote this year by the Oakland City Council would be all but out of the question."

"Reiskin cited a tight timeline of other necessary reviews that would have followed between this month and early December as the reason for the deadline."

The issue is that the project appears it will now be delayed until 2023, and A's President Dave Kaval previously said that would hinder the team's efforts to stay in Oakland.

The team's lease agreement at RingCentral Coliseum lasts through 2024.

Oakland was home to three professional sports teams in the Golden State Warriors, Oakland (now Las Vegas) Raiders and A's just three years ago. The Raiders have since moved to Vegas, and Golden State went across the bay to San Francisco.

Now it appears the A's could join the Raiders, ending a tenure in Oakland that featured four World Series titles (1972-1974, 1989) and six pennants (1988 and 1990) in addition to eight straight winning seasons from 1999 to 2006.

Oakland Police are investigating two fans who allegedly engaged in a sex act in the stands at Oakland's RingCentral Coliseum during Sunday's game between the Athletics and Seattle Mariners.

"The Oakland Police Department was not alerted to this until after the game, and we have initiated an investigation," a police spokesperson said, per TMZ Sports.

The fans could face up to six months in prison or a fine of up to $1,000 if they are convicted.

TMZ noted a spectator in a different section captured what appeared to be video of the act. The section with the two fans was largely empty, and attendance for Sunday's game was just 9,314 at the 35,067-seat stadium.

Oakland is in last place in the American League West at 45-77, although it managed to win Sunday's game 5-3 and take two of three games in the series against its division rival.

Despite losing the series, the Mariners are still in position to land one of the three American League wild-card spots and are 2.5 games ahead of the Baltimore Orioles and Minnesota Twins.

Free-agent shortstop Elvis Andrus, who cleared waivers after being released by the Oakland Athletics, is signing with the Chicago White Sox and will join the team in Cleveland on Friday.

ESPN's Jeff Passan reported the news on Andrus, who turns 34 years old on Aug. 26. The 14-year MLB veteran, who spent his first 12 years with the Texas Rangers before joining Oakland, is hitting .237 (.673 OPS) with eight home runs and 30 RBI this season.

Andrus' playing time decreased in August, and he voiced his frustrations about no longer being an everyday player.

"Everybody knows I'm an everyday player. So doing this, it's not fun for me," Andrus said, per Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle after not starting for the fourth time in seven games.

"Of course I'm upset. I'm pissed about it. But like I said, the best I can do is stay positive and wait for my turn and be ready whatever happens."

The A's released Andrus Wednesday, when Jon Heyman of the New York Post also reported that the White Sox were a "likely" landing spot for the shortstop.

Reported talks between the two sides has evidently turned into an agreement, and now Andrus has gone from the last-place A's to a White Sox team just two games back of the Cleveland Guardians for the AL Central lead.

The White Sox need middle infield reinforcements after Leury Garcia landed on the 10-day injured list with a lower back strain.

Tim Anderson is already expected to be out for six weeks retroactive to Aug. 11 after undergoing surgery to repair a sagittal band tear in his left middle finger.

The White Sox still have rookie Lenyn Sosa, who had been splitting time at shortstop with Garcia following Anderson's injury. However, the two-time All-Star should presumably be featured in the White Sox lineup as Chicago fights for a playoff spot.

Chicago plays Thursday against the Houston Astros before traveling to Cleveland for a pivotal three-game series with the second-place Guardians.

The New York Yankees acquired starting pitcher Frankie Montas and reliever Lou Trivino from the Oakland Athletics on Monday.

Oakland received minor league pitchers JP Sears, Ken Waldichuk and Luis Medina and infielder Cooper Bowman in return.

YES Network's Jack Curry first reported the deal.

Trivino is the second reliever the Yankees added Monday after they finalized a deal for the Chicago Cubs' Scott Effross.

This move continues Oakland's teardown. The A's already dealt Matt Olson, Matt Chapman, Sean Manaea and Chris Bassitt, so it was only a matter of time before Montas followed them out the door.

The 29-year-old is arbitration-eligible for the 2023 season and due to hit free agency after the 2023 campaign. With his team anchored to the bottom of the American League West at 39-65, keeping him through the trade deadline made less practical sense than cashing in now.

Montas has done the A's a bit of a favor by putting together a strong 2022 campaign.

Things got off on a rather inauspicious note as he allowed five earned runs in a 9-5 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Opening Day. That poor outing is an outlier, though. Through 19 appearances, the right-hander boasts a 3.18 ERA and a 3.36 FIP, per FanGraphs. He has struck out 9.4 batters and allowed 2.4 walks per nine innings.

While Montas doesn't boast exceptional strikeout numbers, he has gotten a high number of batters to swing at stuff out of the zone. According to Baseball Savant, his chase rate (33.2 percent) ranks in the 88th percentile.

His pitch selection might have something to do with that. He boasts a pretty close balance between his top four pitches: four-seam fastball (27.1 percent), sinker (22.0 percent), slider (15.6 percent) and splitter (26.0 percent), per Baseball Savant.

Anticipating what Montas will throw is easier said than done, making life difficult for those standing inside the batter's box.

For contenders looking to strengthen their rotations, the Dominican Republic native was one of the best arms on the market. It was a battle between him and Cincinnati Reds ace Luis Castillo, and they basically had an equal chance of leaving a last-place team.

Montas' arrival will have a significant impact on New York's staff the rest of the way and into 2023. And Trivino, who boasts a 3.84 FIP and 10 saves in 39 appearances, will fortify a bullpen that has been beset by injuries all season.

At least with regard to Montas, this isn't a trade the Bronx Bombers necessarily needed to make because they already had a strong five-man unit of Gerrit Cole, Jordan Montgomery, Nestor Cortes, Jameson Taillon and Luis Severino.

Cortes' emergence in particular seemingly allowed the front office to abandon any pursuit of a high-profile arm. General manager Brian Cashman obviously begged to differ, and Severino's shoulder trouble might have had a lot to do with that.

Three teams have distanced themselves from the pack in the race for Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Frankie Montas.

MLB Network's Jon Morosi reported Sunday that Montas' market is "focused" on the Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals ahead of Tuesday's MLB trade deadline.

The Seattle Mariners finalized a deal for the Cincinnati Reds' Luis Castillo on Friday, taking perhaps the best pitcher off the trade market. That leaves Montas as the top arm still available.

The 29-year-old right-hander is 4-9 with a 3.18 ERA and a 3.36 FIP in 19 starts, per FanGraphs.

The New York Post's Joel Sherman reported the Yankees discussed a Castillo swap with Cincinnati. Negotiations hit an impasse when the Bronx Bombers were prepared to deal Oswald Peraza but not Anthony Volpe.

USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported Saturday that Montas became New York's new primary target.

The Yankees are already 12.5 games ahead of the Blue Jays for first in the American League East, and they have a starting rotation headlined by Gerrit Cole and Nestor Cortes. They don't desperately need pitching help, but they clearly want to leave nothing to chance in pursuit of a 28th World Series title.

Toronto and St. Louis have a stronger incentive to take a big swing prior to the trade deadline because neither is leading its division. The Jays have a two-game cushion in the AL wild-card race, while the Cardinals are one game back of the Philadelphia Phillies for the NL's final wild-card spot.

While Montas' next team remains in doubt, it seems safe to assume his days with the last-place Athletics are numbered.

The New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals are among the teams interested in Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Frankie Montas ahead of the Aug. 2 trade deadline, per reports.

Montas is perhaps the best starting pitcher available after Cincinnati Reds star Luis Castillo was traded to the Seattle Mariners earlier this week for prospects Noelvi Marte, Edwin Arroyo, Levi Stoudt and Andrew Moore.

The Yankees have been in the market for another starting pitcher for some time.

Gerrit Cole, Nestor Cortes, Jordan Montgomery and Jameson Taillon have delivered impressive performances on the mound this season, but injuries to Domingo German and Luis Severino have caused some concern within the organization.

German returned from a shoulder injury on July 21 and has been underwhelming in two starts, posting an 8.22 ERA, 1.83 WHIP, three walks and nine strikeouts in 7.2 innings.

Severino, meanwhile, remains on the injured list with a low-grade right lat strain. He has started 16 games this season—recording a 3.45 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 95 strikeouts in 86 innings—but hasn't pitched since exiting his July 13 start against the Cincinnati Reds after just two innings.

Adding Montas would also put the Yankees in an even better position to contend for a World Series title. The club has the top record in the AL at 69-33 and boasts one of the best rosters in baseball.

As for the Cardinals, they need some depth behind Adam Wainwright and Miles Mikolas. Dakota Hudson, Jordan Hicks and Andre Pallante currently fill out the remainder of the St. Louis rotation, and the club would benefit from adding another arm.

The Cardinals are second in the NL Central with a 53-47 record, just 3.5 games behind the first-place Milwaukee Brewers, and hold the last wild-card spot. Adding Montas could put the club in a better position to compete for the division crown.

Montas has spent the last six seasons of his career in Oakland and has posted a 3.18 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 109 strikeouts in 104.2 innings this year.

The right-hander has one more year of arbitration eligibility before becoming an unrestricted free agent in 2024. It's reasonable to believe any team that acquires him at the deadline would be interested in signing him to an extension.

The 29-year-old would only be the latest member of the A's to be moved as part of Oakland's fire sale this year. The franchise has already parted ways with first baseman Matt Olson, third baseman Matt Chapman and starting pitchers Chris Bassitt and Sean Manaea.

The A's have the second-worst record in MLB at 39-63 and are on pace to miss the playoffs for the second straight season.

The New York Yankees are reportedly targeting two of the top starting pitchers on the market, the Oakland Athletics' Frankie Montas and Cincinnati Reds' Luis Castillo, ahead of Tuesday's 2022 MLB trade deadline.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported Wednesday the Yanks have made upgrading their rotation a "priority," but so far they aren't close to any blockbuster deals.

New York's starting staff has been mostly strong throughout 2022. Its starters rank third in ERA (3.31) behind only the Los Angeles Dodgers (2.77) and Houston Astros (3.21), per FanGraphs.

Gerrit Cole, Nestor Cortes, Jordan Montgomery and Jameson Taillon are all putting together strong seasons, so the only real question mark is the No. 5 spot with Domingo German and Luis Severino both being limited by injuries this season.

The Yankees aiming for a high-end arm like Montas or Castillo is more a product of them owning realistic World Series aspirations than trying to fill a desperate need.

Montas has compiled a 3.18 ERA and 1.13 WHIP with 109 strikeouts in 104.2 innings across 19 starts for the A's this season. He's struck out 578 batters in 552.2 career innings.

The 29-year-old Dominican Republic native is one of several players Oakland could move before the deadline with the front office focused firmly on the future. The team owns MLB's second-worst record at 37-63 in large part because of a noncompetitive offense.

After Tuesday's start against the Astros, the right-hander admitted a potential move has been on his mind amid a flurry of trade rumors.

"I'm not gonna lie, of course I've been thinking about it," Montas told reporters. "Especially with the deadline coming up pretty soon. There was a time today that I thought, 'Hey, this might be my last start here.'"

Meanwhile, it's much the same story for Castillo and the Reds, who sit at 37-59 amid a rebuilding project.

Castillo, 29, earned his second All-Star selection this season while on pace to post career-best numbers despite playing home games in the bandbox known as Great American Ball Park. He's recorded a 2.77 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in 13 outings.

Like Montas, he also provides intriguing strikeout numbers, having racked up 852 in 785.1 MLB innings.

Either high-profile starter would provide a major boost to the Yankees staff, but that level of marquee trade is not necessary to keep the team in contention. Even a move for a less costly mid-rotation starter would help provide some insurance.

But, at least for now, New York's front office is shooting for the stars ahead of the deadline.