The Athletics plan to recruit free agents harder than normal before their first year at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento.
General manager David Forst, architect of the A’s league-low $63.4 million payroll in 2024, told reporters Friday about the team’s intention to spend during the looming offseason.
“We do expect our payroll to increase,” Forst told reporters Friday (h/t Sports Illustrated’s Jason Burke). “We do expect to be active in free agency."
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Frugality was the A’s m.o. throughout the franchise's last two decades in Oakland. Perhaps the move to Sacramento ignites change.
The Pittsburgh Pirates, one spot higher (29th) in team salary for 2024, cost $85.4 million to field. For comparison, the New York Mets lead baseball by costing $317.8 million -- roughly five times more expensive than the A’s.
The A’s have five pending free agents -- Scott Alexander, T.J. McFarland, Ross Stripling, Trevor Gott and Alex Wood -- and their potential departures will open up a little more than $25 million. But, even with potentially more flexible pockets, the A’s will be a tough sell for free agents entering the 2025 MLB season.
The A’s will play 2025-27 at a minor-league ballpark. It will be hard to convince good players to abandon their routinely luxurious home stadiums for an experiment backed by MLB’s cheapest organization.
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Another aspect to consider is the A’s plan to leave West Sacramento for Las Vegas, which could be viewed as a detrimental factor for players interested in long-term contracts.
"We do have to sell it," Forst said about the A’s Sutther Health Park situation. "I'd be lying if I told you I knew what the answers were going to be on the other side, once we start that process.”
The A’s probably will be playing on artificial turf, which will not be friendly on players’ feet during common Central Valley heat waves. Sutter Health also will be an intimate MLB experience as one can find with a capacity of 14,000 as currently constructed.
Newness is on the horizon for the A’s. It will be interesting to see if their general financial approach, though, remains the same.