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MLBTR Podcast: Free Agent Power Rankings, Ohtani’s Stolen Money And The A’s Moving To Sacramento

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • How can a pitcher blow a save in the seventh inning? How early can a save be blown? (38:25)
  • Do you think the Tigers will release Javier Báez? It is painful to watch him. (41:15)
  • Who could the Braves target inside or outside the organization to replace Spencer Strider? (45:15)

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

2023 Rule 5 Update: April Edition

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We’re three weeks into the 2024 season, and this year’s crop of Rule 5 picks has had an atypical amount of staying power. That’s perhaps in part due to the fact that only ten players were selected in the 2023 Rule 5 Draft, but as of this writing, only one Rule 5 selection has been returned to his original organization.

For those unfamiliar, in order to be eligible for the Rule 5 Draft, a player must not be on his team’s 40-man roster and must have played in either parts of five professional seasons (if they signed at 18 or younger) or four professional seasons (if they signed at 19 or older). The deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 by selecting their contracts to the 40-man roster typically falls in mid-November and spurs a good deal of player movement as teams jettison borderline players and non-tender candidates from their roster in order to protect younger prospects.

A player who is selected in the Rule 5 Draft must spend the entire subsequent season on his new club’s Major League roster and cannot be optioned to the minors. The player can technically spend time on the injured list as well, but at least 90 days must be spent on the active roster. If not, the player’s Rule 5 status rolls into the following season until 90 days on the active roster have been accrued. If a team at any point decides it can no longer carry a Rule 5 selection, that player must be passed through waivers and subsequently offered back to his original organization. Any other club can claim the player via waivers, but the same Rule 5 restrictions will apply to the claiming team.

Broadly speaking, the Rule 5 Draft rarely produces impact players. There are plenty of exceptions over the years, though, with names like Johan Santana, Dan Uggla, Shane Victorino, Joakim Soria, Josh Hamilton and, more recently, Garrett Whitlock and Trevor Stephan thriving in new organizations. The Rule 5 Draft dates back more than a century and has even produced a handful of Hall of Famers: Roberto Clemente, Hack Wilson and Christy Mathewson.

It’s unlikely we’ll see any Cooperstown-bound players come from this year’s crop, but the teams who opted to select a player will be content if any of these names become a viable reliever or role player for the next several seasons. Here’s a look at this year’s group of ten Rule 5 players and where they stand. We’ll do a few of these throughout the season, keeping tabs on which players survive the season and formally have their long-term rights transferred to their new clubs.

On a Major League Roster

Mitch Spence, RHP, Athletics (selected from Yankees)

Spence, 26 next month, was the first overall pick in this year’s Rule 5 Draft, and understandably so after the 2023 season he had. His 4.47 ERA might’ve been pedestrian, but the 2019 tenth-rounder led all Triple-A pitchers with 163 innings while delivering a nice blend of strikeouts (21.8%), walks (7.5%) and ground-balls (50%). For an A’s club desperately thin on starting pitching after the slew of rebuilding-driven trades for minor league arms have failed to produce much, adding a 25-year-old arm with that type of season held obvious appeal.

Spence made Oakland’s decision easy with a monster spring showing. He pitched 17 2/3 innings and allowed only six earned runs (3.06 ERA) on 15 hits and six walks with 21 punchouts. He’s worked out of the ’pen so far in Oakland but could very well find himself making starts later in the year. Through his first 11 2/3 MLB frames, Spence has yielded four earned runs on 10 hits and four walks with a 48.4% grounder rate. He’s not in danger of losing his spot anytime soon.

Matt Sauer, RHP, Royals (selected from Yankees)

Another 25-year-old righty out of the Yankees organization, Sauer came to his new club with a much heavier draft pedigree than his now-former teammate, Spence. The Yankees selected the 6’4″ righty with the No. 54 overall pick back in 2017, but Sauer didn’t develop as quickly as hoped. He was set back by 2019 Tommy John surgery and the canceled 2020 minor league season. He’s never topped 111 innings in a season, but Sauer rebuilt some prospect pedigree with a nice 2023 season that saw him pitch 68 1/3 innings of 3.42 ERA ball in Double-A. He whiffed 29.5% of his opponents, albeit against a less palatable 10.3% walk rate.

Like his former teammate, Sauer had a nice spring that made the decision relatively easy for his new club. In 10 2/3 innings, he held opponents to three earned runs (2.53 ERA) on 13 hits and three walks with 13 strikeouts. He opened the season in the Kansas City bullpen and has thus far pitched five innings, allowing a pair of runs in that time. Sauer has walked four of his 25 opponents and fanned just two thus far. It’s a small sample, of course, but he’ll need to reverse that early trend to hang onto his roster spot — especially if the Royals continue their hot start and find themselves contending into the summer.

Anthony Molina, RHP, Rockies (selected from Rays)

The 22-year-old Molina worked as a starter in the Rays’ system last year, taking the ball 28 times (27 starts) and pitching 122 innings with a 4.50 ERA. The undersized righty has garnered praise for a solid-average heater and above-average changeup, and he showed good command in 2023 after struggling with walks earlier in his minor league career. Molina continued to show good command in spring training (in addition to a massive 60.5% grounder rate), but the regular season has been brutal for him thus far. In three appearances, he’s been tattooed for a dozen runs on 13 hits and four walks with just two strikeouts. The Rockies can afford to be as patient as they want. They’re 4-13 on the season and were never expected to contend. Still, Molina will need to improve on his early performance in order to stick on the roster.

Nasim Nunez, INF, Nationals (selected from Marlins)

The Nationals have effectively played the season thus far with a 25-man roster. Nunez made the Opening Day squad but has been M.I.A. since. He’s appeared in just five of Washington’s 16 games and received only two plate appearances, going hitless in that meaningless sample. Nunez is an all-glove and speed prospect who hit just .224/.341/.286 in Double-A last season. He did go 52-for-59 in stolen base attempts, and scouting reports have long touted his defensive excellence at shortstop. He hit just .152/.200/.182 in 35 spring plate appearances.

It’s fair to wonder how long the Nats can essentially punt a roster spot by keeping Nunez on the bench, but like the Rockies, they’re not expecting to contend this season anyhow. One would imagine that from a pure developmental standpoint, they need to find a way to get Nunez into some games and start getting him some playing time, but for now, the team appears content to just hide the 23-year-old on the bench.

Ryan Fernandez, RHP, Cardinals (selected from Red Sox)

Fernandez, 25, has just four appearances out of the St. Louis bullpen so far and has been understandably deployed in low-leverage spots while he acclimates to the majors. He’s pitched fairly well in sparse duty, holding opponents to three runs (two earned) in 5 2/3 innings. Fernandez has averaged just under 96 mph on his heater, fanned seven opponents and issued three walks. His swinging-strike rate isn’t close to where it’s been in his minor league work, but his wipeout slider has been strong thus far. Fernandez has finished off eight plate appearances with that pitch, picking up four strikeouts and yielding only one hit. Nothing he’s done so far makes it seem like he’ll be cut loose anytime soon.

Justin Slaten, RHP, Red Sox (selected by Mets from Rangers; traded to Red Sox for LHP Ryan Ammons)

While most Rule 5 relievers are eased into low-pressure spots, that hasn’t been the case with the Sox and Slaten. He held a four-run lead to pick up a seven-out save in the team’s fourth game of the season, and the 6’4″ righty has since tallied three holds out of Alex Cora’s bullpen. In 10 1/3 innings, Slaten has allowed only one run on three hits and a walk with eight strikeouts. Add in 6 1/3 shutout innings in spring training, and he’s looked more like a seasoned veteran than a 26-year-old who entered the season with all of 8 1/3 innings above the Double-A level. Slaten has immediately made himself an important part of Boston’s roster, and while a prolonged slump could always change things, he looks like a keeper right now.

Stephen Kolek, RHP, Padres (selected from Mariners)

Kolek, who’ll turn 27 tomorrow, began his big league tenure with four runs in 1 2/3 innings over his first two appearances. He’s since bounced back with 8 2/3 innings of one-run ball, fanning 11 hitters against three walks along the way. He punched out nearly a quarter of his opponents in Triple-A last year and did so with a huge 57.5% ground-ball rate. He hasn’t picked up grounders at such a strong level just yet (43.5%), but San Diego probably isn’t second-guessing their decision to select him. He’s already picked up a pair of holds, and his recent run of success has dropped his ERA to 4.35. Command has been a problem for Kolek in the past, but he’s only walked 8.9% of his opponents against a 26.7% strikeout rate so far.

On the Major League Injured List

Shane Drohan, LHP, White Sox (selected from Red Sox): Drohan underwent shoulder surgery in late February and is on the 60-day IL. There’s no telling yet when he’ll be medically cleared to return. As noted in the intro, Drohan needs 90 days on the active roster to shed his Rule 5 designation; even if he spends the entire 2024 campaign on the injured list, his Rule 5 status will carry over into 2025 until he picks up those 90 active days.

Carson Coleman, RHP, Rangers (selected from Yankees): Coleman is also on the 60-day injured list. Unlike Drohan, it was well known at the time of his selection that he’d be IL-bound to begin the year. Coleman had Tommy John surgery last year and is expected to be out until midsummer at the least.

Returned to Original Organization

Deyvison De Los Santos, INF, Guardians (returned to D-backs): De Los Santos has big raw power but a well below-average hit tool. The Guardians selected him on the heels of a 20-homer campaign in Double-A with the D-backs, but he hit just .227/.227/.318 in 44 spring appearances before being designated for assignment, clearing waivers and getting returned to the Snakes. He’s had a big performance in a return-trip to Double-A.

A's Place J.D. Davis On Injured List

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The Marlins have been without left-hander Braxton Garrett all season. A shoulder impingement sent the 26-year-old to the injured list to begin the year. Garrett seemed to be nearing a return to the majors after throwing six innings in a rehab start for Triple-A Jacksonville last week, but he has run into a bit of a setback. Manager Skip Schumaker told reporters that Garrett felt a “dead arm” when throwing a bullpen session today (link via Christina De Nicola of MLB.com).

That isn’t believed to be related to the shoulder injury, yet it could push back his return all the same. Schumaker said Garrett will go for further testing. Getting the former #7 overall pick back in fairly short order would be a needed boost for a club that is off to the worst start in franchise history (3-14). Garrett was a key piece of the rotation a year ago, working 159 2/3 innings with a 3.66 ERA.

A few other injury notes:

  • The A’s placed J.D. Davis on the 10-day injured list shortly before tonight’s game against the Cardinals. The third baseman has a right adductor strain. Speedy outfielder Esteury Ruiz was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas in his place. Davis has gotten the nod at the hot corner for 14 of Oakland’s first 16 contests. He’s off to a slow start, hitting .196/.255/.373 with a lofty 29.1% strikeout rate. Manager Mark Kotsay turned to Abraham Toro at third base tonight.
  • Rays outfielder Josh Lowe could be nearing his season debut. Skipper Kevin Cash said that Lowe will head out on a rehab stint with Triple-A Durham on Thursday (link via Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times). Lowe was delayed early in camp by inflammation in his left hip. As he worked back from that issue, he strained his right oblique. That knocked him out of game action for a month. Lowe is coming off a breakout season, having hit .292/.335/.500 with 20 homers and 32 steals in 501 plate appearances. The Rays have used Richie Palacios and Amed Rosario in a right field platoon with Lowe on the shelf. They’ve each hit well in the early going, but they’re both capable of bouncing around the diamond once Lowe is ready to return to the lineup.
  • Justin Verlander has one final hurdle to clear before he’ll make his season debut. Astros manager Joe Espada told reporters that the three-time Cy Young winner will throw a bullpen session tomorrow (X link via Chandler Rome of the Athletic). If that goes according to plan, Verlander will be reinstated from the 15-day injured list for this weekend’s series in Washington. The 41-year-old is coming off a four-inning rehab stint with Double-A Corpus Christi, in which he threw 78 pitches.

Ken Holtzman Passes Away

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The Cubs announced that former big league left-hander Ken Holtzman passed away recently. Per an obituary from Benjamin Hochman of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Holtzman had been hospitalized for the past three weeks due to heart problems. He was 78 years old.

Holtzman was born in St. Louis in 1945. He attended the University of Illinois and was selected from there by the Cubs in the 1965 draft. It didn’t take him long to get to the big leagues, with the Cubs calling him up later that same year.

He only made three appearances in 1965 but got a more proper debut in 1966. He made 34 appearances for the Cubs, 33 starts, and tossed 220 2/3 innings with a 3.79 earned run average. In 1967, he was serving in the National Guard and only able to pitch on weekends, but he made the most of his time in that limited role. He made 12 starts and went 9-0 that year, posting a 2.53 ERA in 92 2/3 innings.

With his military obligations completed, he was able to return to a full-time role. 1968 was the first of nine straight seasons in which he made at least 30 appearances and tossed at least 195 innings. Those Cubs teams of the late ’60s and early ’70s were pretty decent, finishing above .500 each year from ’67 to ’72, but not making the playoffs in any of them. Holtzman was a key component of those clubs, taking the ball and posting generally solid results. That included a no-hitter that he tossed against the Braves in 1969 and another against the Reds in 1971.

Prior to the 1972 season, Holtzman was traded to the Athletics for fellow southpaw Rick Monday. The move to Oakland seemed to suit Holtzman. From 1972 to 1975, he tossed at least 255 1/3 innings in each season with his ERA never finishing higher than 3.14. He was selected to the All-Star team in ’72 and ’73 and the A’s won the World Series in three straight years from ’72 to ’74, with Holtzman playing a big part in those titles. Over those three years and in 1975, he pitched in 13 postseason games with a 2.30 ERA in 70 1/3 innings. He even hit a home run in the ’74 series, with the DH not being implemented in the World Series until 1976.

Holtzman was traded to the Orioles prior to the 1976 season and then to the Yankees in the middle of that campaign. He stayed with the Yanks for a while as his playing time faded, getting traded back to the Cubs midway through the ’78 campaign. He made 23 appearances in 1979 with a 4.59 ERA in what eventually proved to be his last season.

His entire big league career resulted in 451 appearances with a 174-150 record and a 3.49 ERA. He pitched two no-hitters, made a couple of All-Star teams and won three rings. Per Hochman, Holtzman has the most wins for a Jewish pitcher in MLB history, with his 174 just ahead of the 165 wins of Sandy Koufax.

MLBTR joins the rest of the baseball community in sending our condolences to the Holtzman family, as well as his many friends and fans around the game.

Athletics Select Max Schuemann

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The Athletics announced that outfielder Brent Rooker has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a costochondral cartilage injury. Infielder/outfielder Max Schuemann was selected to take Rooker’s place on the active roster. To open a spot for Schuemann on the 40-man, right-hander Luis Medina was transferred to the 60-day injured list.

Rooker was removed from Sunday’s game to due abdominal soreness, per Martín Gallegos of MLB.com, and hasn’t played since. Costochondral cartilage is connected to the ribs, which tracks with his reported soreness. The club has not provided any timeline for Rooker’s expected absence.

He had a late-bloomer breakout last year at the age of 28, hitting 30 homers for the A’s tough also striking out at a 32.7% clip. He played in eight games this year, starting in right field twice but mostly serving as the designated hitter. His absence will mean the club can rotate various guys through the DH slot and give plate appearances to their young and developing hitters.

It will also allow Schuemann to make it to the majors for the first time in his career, just a couple of months ahead of his 27th birthday, which is in June. A 20th-round selection of the A’s in the 2018 draft, Schuemann didn’t get a lot of attention from prospect evaluators until a breakout season in 2021.

That year, he went from High-A to Double-A to Triple-A, playing 119 games between those three levels. He paired a 10.1% walk rate with a 19.6% strikeout rate and slashed .271/.372/.388 for a wRC+ of 111. He also stole 52 bases in 57 tries and bounced around to various infield and outfield positions.

Going into 2022, Baseball America ranked him the #27 prospect in the system while FanGraphs gave him an honorable mention. That year, he continued to get on base at a decent clip and steal bases at the Double-A level, but he struck out in 39% of his Triple-A appearances. That was in a small sample of 41 trips to the plate over 11 games, but it perhaps suggested he was overmatched at the top level of the minors.

But Schuemann continued to improve in 2023. He finally got an extended stretch of Triple-A playing time, 433 plate appearances in 103 games, and responded well. He only hit nine home runs but drew walks at a 14.3% rate while keeping his strikeouts down to a 20.1% clip. He slashed .277/.402/.429  for a wRC+ of 109 while stealing 20 bases in 29 tries.

Per Melissa Lockard of The Athletic, Schuemann went to the Dominican Republic for some winter ball a few months back but was hit in the head with a pitch in his first game, then sat out the rest of the season. Whatever effects there were from that HBP seemed to have passed by the spring, as he hit .294/.405/.382 during Cactus League play.

During his minor league career, Schuemann has played all four infield positions and all three outfield spots. He’ll presumably plug into that roll for the big league club, bouncing all around the diamond as needed while the rebuilding A’s audition their young players for roles in the future of the club.

As for Medina, he was diagnosed with a Grade 2 sprain of the medial collateral ligament in his right knee in early March. His timeline isn’t clear but he hasn’t yet begun a rehab assignment and the club evidently doesn’t expect him back soon. This transfer means he will be eligible to be activated before late May.

A’s Outright Zach Jackson

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Athletics right-hander Zach Jackson went unclaimed on waivers after being designated for assignment and has been assigned outright to Triple-A, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. Jackson has fewer than three years of service time and does not have a prior outright in his career, so he can’t reject the assignment in favor of free agency. He’ll head back to Las Vegas, where he’d opened the season, and hope to pitch his way back onto the big league roster.

The 29-year-old Jackson has pitched 66 innings with Oakland over the past two seasons and turned in a sterling 2.86 ERA in that time. A look under the hood reveals more concerning issues, however, most notably including a grim 15.2% walk rate (to say nothing of a sky-high 14 wild pitches). Jackson has fanned a whopping 31.9% of his opponents in that time as well, but his lack of command is a clear red flag. He’s also benefited from seeing a minuscule 2.6% of his fly-balls become home runs — about one-fifth of the roughly 12% league average. Metrics like xFIP and SIERA, which normalize HR/FB ratio, peg Jackson at 4.23 and 3.79, respectively.

A flexor strain limited Jackson to 18 innings last year, and he’s had a tough return. In 8 1/3 spring innings, he yielded seven runs (six earned) on six hits and three walks. He’s continued to struggle through his first three appearances in Vegas, serving up four runs in two innings of work. More alarming than the runs allowed, however, are the eight walks he’s issued despite facing just 16 hitters on the season thus far.

It’s likely there’s some rust for Jackson following that 2023 injury, but he’s presumably in good health. The A’s didn’t place him on the minor league injured list, and injured players can’t be placed on outright waivers. If he can get back on track in Vegas, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him back in the majors. The Oakland bullpen is lacking in established relievers, currently including five pitchers with under a year of MLB service time and a pair of veteran journeymen looking to rebound (Austin Adams, T.J. McFarland).

A’s Acquire Alex Speas From White Sox

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The A’s announced this afternoon that they have acquired right-hander Alex Speas from the White Sox in exchange for cash considerations. Speas had been designated for assignment by the Sox yesterday. To clear space on their 40-man roster for Speas, they’ve designated right-hander Zach Jackson for assignment.

Speas, 26, was a second round pick by the Rangers in the 2016 draft and made his big league debut with the club last year. His first cup of coffee in the majors did not go well, as he surrendered three runs on five walks and two hits while striking out four in two innings of work. Those difficulties at the big league level were reflective of his work at Triple-A with the Rangers last year, as he posted a 5.08 ERA with a 19.2% walk rate in 28 1/3 innings at the level. With that being said, his work at Double-A last season was nothing short of phenomenal as he punched out 40.9% of batters faced en route to a 0.64 ERA across 23 appearances.

The right-hander was designated for assignment by Texas at the tail end of the 2023 campaign and claimed off waivers by the White Sox in early October. He lasted through the offseason on the club’s 40-man roster, but his tenure with the club ended after just two appearances at the Triple-A level with the club. His brief stint with the club’s affiliate in Charlotte went poorly, as he allowed four runs on two walks and two hits, including a home run, while striking out just two. His time with Chicago came to an end yesterday when he was designated for assignment to make room for veteran outfielder Robbie Grossman on the club’s 40-man roster. Now, Speas will return to the AL West as a member of the A’s organization. He’s been optioned to Triple-A to begin his time with the club but could factor into the Oakland bullpen miss later this year alongside the likes of Michael Kelly, Austin Adams, and Lucas Erceg.

He’ll take the 40-man roster spot of Jackson, the Blue Jays’ third-round pick from the 2016 draft who made his way to Oakland via the 2020 Rule 5 Draft. Jackson pitched for the A’s since making his debut in 2022, with a 2.86 ERA in 66 innings, but was limited to just 20 frames by a flexor tendon strain last year and struggled badly both this spring and in three appearances at Triple-A so far this year. The A’s will now have one week to trade, waive, or release Jackson. Should he be passed through waivers successfully, the club will have the ability to assign him outright to the minor leagues, where he can act as non-roster depth going forward.

Athletics To Play 2025-27 Seasons In Sacramento Ahead Of Scheduled Move To Las Vegas

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11:20am: Lindsey Adler of the Wall Street Journal reports that the A’s will not have a city associated with their name for the next three seasons. Rather than the “Sacramento Athletics,” they’ll just be referred to as the Athletics or the A’s, with no city designation.

11:05am: The Chronicle’s Eli M. Rosenberg reports that the City of Oakland’s final offer to the A’s was a three-year, $60MM lease of the Coliseum (X thread). That’s a notable step down from the previous $97MM price point but still apparently didn’t move the needle for Fisher and Athletics ownership.

10:12am: The 2024 season is officially the Athletics’ last year in Oakland. The team announced this morning that they’ll spend the 2025-27 seasons playing their home games in Sacramento’s Sutter Health Park ahead of their planned 2028 move to Las Vegas. There’s an option on the agreement for the A’s to spend a fourth year in Sacramento, presumably in the event that the construction of their new Las Vegas stadium is not completed on time.

Sutter Health Park is home to the Sacramento River Cats — the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate. It seems the two teams will share the stadium for at least the next three seasons — or at least that such an arrangement is under consideration. The press release announcing the Sacramento decision states: “Not only will fans be able to experience Major League Baseball in West Sacramento, but they will also still get to enjoy the beloved tradition of Minor League Baseball and the Sacramento River Cats.”

However, that’s not necessarily set in stone. John Shea, Susan Slusser and Steve Kroner of the San Francisco Chronicle report that the A’s and River Cats sharing Sutter Health Park is “one option.” The Chronicle trio further reports that there’s also been some consideration that the River Cats could play home games across multiple sites, including the Coliseum and the Giants’ Oracle Park.

River Cats president Chip Maxon told KCRA 3’s Michelle Dapper last week: “We are Sacramento’s team, we’re not going anywhere. If someone else were to play here, we’ve made it clear we want to play all 75 home games for the River Cats for the foreseeable future.”

Maxon’s comments notwithstanding, the NBA’s Sacramento Kings are the majority owner of the River Cats. Kings president and CEO Vivek Ranadivé issued the following statement:

“I’m thrilled to welcome the A’s to Sutter Health Park, where players and fans alike can enjoy a world-class baseball experience and create other unforgettable memories. Today marks the next chapter of professional sports in Sacramento. The passion of our fans is second to none, and this is an incredible opportunity to showcase one of the most dynamic and vibrant markets in the country.”

Said A’s owner John Fisher:

“We look forward to making Sutter Health Park our home through our move to Las Vegas. We extend our appreciation to the Kings and the City of West Sacramento for hosting the A’s while we work to complete our new ballpark in Las Vegas.”

There are, as one would expect, some logistical hurdles that need to be cleared. Sutter Health Park’s capacity is just over 14,000; it’s well smaller than the size of a standard big league stadium. While that invites plenty of jokes about the Athletics’ attendance, concerns regarding the size of the stadium extend beyond its sheer seating capacity. A’s players voiced concerns to the Chronicle about the size of the clubhouse and training room, the standards of the batting cages, and the lights at a Triple-A stadium. Right-hander Paul Blackburn also noted the location of the clubhouses, which are beyond the outfield wall as opposed to the MLB standard of being connected to the dugouts, as another issue.

On top of the facility itself, the A’s will need to sort through television broadcast specifics with NBC Sports California. Shea, Slusser and Kroner report that the A’s made $67MM from their television contract last year but will likely revise that deal and receive less revenue now. However, the move to Sacramento allows the A’s to avoid the City of Oakland’s proposed $97MM fee for the extension of the current Coliseum lease. It also allows Fisher to retain a 50% stake in the Coliseum property itself.

Suffice it to say, there are ample hurdles yet to be cleared and plenty of unknowns to be determined. As The Athletic’s Melissa Lockard points out, the fact that the A’s are endeavoring to play their home games in West Sacramento — rather than at their own Triple-A stadium in Las Vegas — speaks to the difficulties of making an arrangement like this work for all parties involved. That the A’s are even announcing this despite ostensibly not having a concrete plan outlined for where the River Cats will play only adds to the disjointed and disorganized feeling that has been emblematic of their entire relocation saga.

Athletics Outright Adrian Martinez

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Right-hander Adrian Martinez went unclaimed on waivers after being designated for assignment by the Athletics and has been assigned outright to their Triple-A affiliate, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. It’s his first career outright, and he has under three years of service time, so Martinez cannot reject the assignment.

Acquired alongside Euribiel Angeles in the trade sending lefty Sean Manaea to the Padres, the now-27-year-old Martinez has pitched 112 2/3 innings for Oakland over the past two seasons. He worked exclusively as a starter in 2022 and primarily out of the bullpen in 2023, turning in a below-average but passable 20% strikeout rate against a sharp 7.6% walk rate.

However, even playing his home games in the Athletics’ cavernous home setting, Martinez has been far too susceptible to home runs; opponents have tagged him for 21 long balls in the big leagues — an average of 1.68 round-trippers per nine innings pitched. A .321 average on balls in play hasn’t helped his cause, but the home runs are the primary reason for his 5.51 ERA. Fielding-independent metrics are a bit more bullish, due largely to that solid K-BB profile. SIERA pegs Martinez at a much more respectable 4.25 mark.

Martinez averages 93.9 mph on a sinker he throws at a 54% clip, but despite that being his primary offering, he’s been more of a fly-ball pitcher. That two-seamer has only generated grounders at a 41.5% rate, and both of his secondary offerings — a slider (82.6 mph average) and changeup (83.5 mph) — skew more heavily toward airborne contact. The right-hander posted strong minor league numbers with the Padres organization in 2019 and 2021, but his production has taken a sharp decline since being traded to Oakland.

Martinez worked as a starter in Triple-A last year, but he was a reliever in the big leagues and made his first appearance of the 2024 season out of the ’pen in Las Vegas. It seems he’ll look to get back on track in a relief role.

Latest On Oakland’s Proposal To Keep A’s Through 2025-27 Seasons

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TODAY: After today’s meetings, the Athletics released a statement to media saying “We appreciate Oakland’s engagement and also we are far apart on the terms needed to agree on an extension.”  Oakland mayor Sheng Thao also issued a statement, saying “Oakland made a fair and reasonable offer to the A’s.  We await their response and look forward to continuing discussions as necessary.”  John Shea and Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle note that the city and Alameda County “are not unified in their negotiations for the lease extension with the team,” though Alameda County supervisor David Haubert described today’s talks as “a productive meeting.”

The A’s will turn from this meeting to another set of meetings Wednesday with Ranadive and Sacramento officials, as per another report from John Shea.

MARCH 31: Officials from the Athletics and from the city of Oakland are set to meet Tuesday to further explore the possibility that the A’s could remain at the Coliseum through the 2027 season, as the team is looking for somewhere to play until their planned new ballpark in Las Vegas is ready for Opening Day 2028.  Some major details of the city’s latest proposal are already known, as ESPN’s Tim Keown and KGO-TV San Francisco report that Oakland is offering a five-year lease at the Coliseum covering the 2025-29 seasons, with an opt-out clause after 2027 so the team can depart if its new Vegas stadium is indeed ready on time.

The price tag for the new lease is $97MM, which the city demands that the A’s pay in full whether they stay for a three-year or five-year team.  This stands out as the largest hurdle to an agreement between the two sides, as Keown notes that two other provisions “are not expected to be contentious” — the A’s would have to sell their 50% share in the Coliseum and surrounding land, and the team would also have to pay to convert the Coliseum’s surface into a soccer-ready state for the United Soccer League’s Oakland Roots SC franchise.

“The city is putting forward a very reasonable deal,” Oakland chief of staff Leigh Hanson said. “We don’t think there’s a poison pill in this deal.  We feel this is an accomplishable goal, and we are going forward understanding we have a short window to execute.”

Oakland’s offer also removes two previous demands from the city, covering the idea of Oakland retaining the Athletics name and team colors, or that Major League Baseball would guarantee Oakland a new team in the next round of expansion.  The new offer instead asks that the league commit to one of three options — either a vote on Oakland’s retention of the A’s name and colors, or helping work out a sale of the Athletics to an Oakland-based ownership group, or “a one-year exclusive right to solicit ownership of a future expansion team,” as Keown puts it.

The $97MM figure is “the shortfall the city says [A’s owner John] Fisher walked away from on the multibillion-dollar Howard Terminal project” Keown writes, referring to the long-discussed plan to build a new ballpark for the A’s in Oakland’s Howard Terminal area.  Those plans fell through, of course, when Fisher instead pivoted for a new city entirely with the move to Las Vegas.

Needless to say, there is a large gap between the city’s ask of $97MM and what the A’s are offering, which is $17MM over the course of a two-year lease covering the 2025 and 2026 seasons.  The 2027 season isn’t included since the team is “contending they have options,” which likely implies a one-year move to another city or perhaps to the Athletics’ Triple-A affiliate’s current ballpark in Las Vegas.  Staying in Oakland through 2026 would give the club more time to fully plan out their temporary pre-Vegas landing spot, whereas there’s a ticking clock now given that the Athletics’ current lease at the Coliseum expires after the current season.

This urgency might give the city some leverage in negotiations, though the A’s have reportedly explored other locations like Salt Lake City and Sacramento as possible homes for the 2025-27 span.  Sacramento was considered the favorite alternate spot besides a lease extension in Oakland, and John Shea and Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote on Friday that multiple league sources feel the Athletics will ultimately end up in Sacramento for a variety of reasons.

The Athletics’ TV contract with NBC Sports California has loomed as a major factor in the situation, as the deal (which pays the A’s upwards of $67MM per season) requires the team to actually be located in the Bay Area.  Shea and Ostler write that the A’s are also in talks with NBC Sports California about a revised contract, and speculate that “if the A’s could cut a new deal for, say, half that amount, they might grab it.  They’d be losing tens of millions per year, but they’d still be making tens of millions, and could make up any shortfall in other ways.”

Ultimately it might come down to how the math works out between the $97MM figure proposed by the city, and what the A’s could get from a renegotiated contract with NBC Sports California.  Just staying in Oakland would naturally make the TV situation a moot point, and the A’s organization would also avoid the logistical complications of playing in a minor league ballpark and temporarily moving its entire infrastructure to Sacramento, while also prepping for another move to Las Vegas in the near future.

However, Shea and Ostler feel Fisher might not be bothered by these complications, and could prefer to leave Oakland behind entirely while also keeping his 50% share of the Coliseum.  The city and Alameda County’s desire for full control over the Coliseum gives Fisher some leverage, since “the danger to Oakland here is that [Fisher] has no plan” for his share of the ballpark, Shea and Ostler write, and Fisher “is simply intending to squat on that site and wait for a big-profit sale sometime down the road.”  That said, Fisher could also view selling his share of the Coliseum as a method of cutting ties with Oakland, generating some short-term money, and avoiding some ongoing and pending legal challenges facing Alameda County’s half-sale of the Coliseum’s ownership.

Sacramento is currently the home of the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate, and how that team would co-exist with the A’s over three seasons has yet to be determined, should the Athletics indeed wind up in California’s capital city.  Vivek Ranadive (owner of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings) owns the minor league franchise, and is both a friend of Fisher and has ambitions of eventually owning a Major League Baseball team himself.  Though Fisher has stated that he has no plans to sell the Athletics, there is still seemingly enough uncertainty surrounding the franchise that it doesn’t seem out of the question that Fisher could ultimately sell the A’s to Ranadive, Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob, or perhaps Ranadive and Lacob working in the same ownership group, as Shea/Ostler opine.

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