Athletics Team Notes

[Las Vegas Athletics]

See what's going on with the Las Vegas A's.

 

[Las Vegas Athletics]

Analyst Believes Surprising MLB Team Could Be Contenders In 2025

(Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire)

The Oakland Athletics missed the postseason for a fourth consecutive season after finishing with a record of 69-93 and fourth in the American League West.

In their last season in Oakland, the team had their third straight losing season.

The A’s will play their home games in Sacramento, California until their new stadium is completed in Las Vegas.

While the team has been poor the past few seasons, one MLB analyst revealed more positive thoughts on the Athletics for 2025.

“From a player development standpoint, they’re starting to enter that window of where they would be competitive,” Melissa Lockard said, via Foul Territory.

The @Athletics could be a contender, says @melissalockard pic.twitter.com/ptBJRBVvGG

— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) January 27, 2025

Lockard describes the pattern of Athletics’ history that includes windows of being competitive and windows of not contending.

With the additional money they have to spend, she believes they are using it to add talent in an attempt to be contenders in the 2025 season.

The Athletics haven’t won the AL West since 2020, when they lost in the American League Division Series.

Although the Athletics have nine World Series titles in franchise history, they haven’t won a championship since 1989.

In a division that includes the Houston Astros, it makes sense that the Athletics haven’t won a division title in a while due to the Astros’ dominance.

It will be interesting to see if Lockard is right and if the Athletics can contend in 2025.

The post Analyst Believes Surprising MLB Team Could Be Contenders In 2025 appeared first on The Cold Wire.

Source: https://www.thecoldwire.com/analyst-believes-surprising-mlb-team-could-be-contenders-in-2025/

 

[Las Vegas Athletics]

A’s Agree To Deal With Relief Pitcher From AL West

(Photo by Noah Graham/Getty Images)

The Oakland Athletics failed to make their last season at the Coliseum a success as they missed the postseason for a fourth straight season.

Although the Athletics broke their two-year streak of losing more than 100 games, they came close with 93, and they have a lot of work to do if they want to get back to being competitive.

Offseason acquisitions for the Athletics include pitchers Luis Severino, Jeffrey Springs and T.J. McFarland, and third baseman Gio Urshela.

Now, the Athletics have made another significant move, landing a player from the AL West rival Texas Rangers.

“Free-agent reliever Jose LeClerc and the A’s are in agreement on a one-year contract,” Robert Murray of FanSided wrote on X.

Free-agent reliever José LeClerc and the A’s are in agreement on a one-year contract.

— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) January 17, 2025

LeClerc is a 31-year-old relief pitcher who played all eight seasons of his MLB career with the Rangers.

In 2024, LeClerc appeared in 64 games and was 6-5 with a 4.32 ERA, one save and 89 strikeouts in 66.2 innings pitched.

Though LeClerc has a high strikeout rate and is a veteran coming out of the bullpen, the Athletics will need a lot more help to be competitive in 2025.

The team will play their games in Sacramento, California before eventually moving to their permanent home of Las Vegas when that stadium is ready.

With plenty of changes around the organization, the A’s will have a difficult time trying to win their first AL West title since 2020.

The post A’s Agree To Deal With Relief Pitcher From AL West appeared first on The Cold Wire.

Source: https://www.thecoldwire.com/as-agree-to-deal-with-relief-pitcher-from-al-west/

 

[Las Vegas Athletics]

A’s Reveal Patch Design For New Uniforms In Sacramento

(Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)

The Oakland Athletics missed the postseason for a fourth straight year after finishing with a 69-93 record and fourth in the American League West.

Over the past few seasons, the Athletics have faced their fair share of difficulties with two of the past three seasons seeing them lose more than 100 games.

While the 2024 season did not get any better, it was also their last season playing in Oakland.

The Athletics will play the 2025 season in Sacramento, California while their new stadium is built in Las Vegas, and they will commemorate it with a special uniform patch.

“The A’s will wear a newly designed sleeve patch featuring a depiction of the iconic Tower Bridge, which is located behind the ballpark in right field, as well as the word ‘Sacramento’ in script, all in the team’s classic green and gold color scheme,” Mike Dixon of Vegas Sports Today wrote on X.

The A’s will wear a newly designed sleeve patch featuring a depiction of the iconic Tower Bridge, which is located behind the ballpark in right field, as well as the word “Sacramento” in script, all in the team’s classic green and gold color scheme. pic.twitter.com/p8SR20lTzF

— Mike Dixon (@MikeDixon_VST) January 17, 2025

While the 2024 season was emotional for many Athletics fans, players, former players and personnel, the team will get a new start in Sacramento before eventually moving to their permanent destination of Las Vegas.

The Athletics have made a few notable acquisitions this offseason, including pitchers Luis Severino, Jeffrey Springs and T.J. McFarland, and third baseman Gio Urshela.

Some of these moves could benefit the team as they seek their first AL West title since the shortened 2020 season.

Things will look different for the Athletics in 2025, but the team has hopes of getting the organization back to a competitive level in their new home.

The post A’s Reveal Patch Design For New Uniforms In Sacramento appeared first on The Cold Wire.

Source: https://www.thecoldwire.com/as-reveal-patch-design-for-new-uniforms-in-sacramento/

 

[Las Vegas Athletics]

Athletics Make Major Front-Office Announcement

(Photo by Noah Graham/Getty Images)

The Oakland Athletics missed the playoffs for a fourth straight season in 2024 after finishing with a record of 69-93.

Although the Athletics had a disappointing season, the big focus was on it being the team’s last year playing in Oakland.

The Athletics are eventually moving to Las Vegas, but their new ballpark will not be ready for a few years, so they will play the 2025 campaign in Sacramento.

Following the dramatic final season in Oakland, the Athletics recently made a major front-office announcement.

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, Athletics president Dave Kaval has announced his resignation from the team.

Dave Kaval resigns as Athletics president pic.twitter.com/0TNOJhi3Ne

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 27, 2024

Kaval was the president of the Athletics for the past eight years, and his last day with the team will come on the last day of 2024.

It was noted in the statement that the organization will begin searching for Kaval’s replacement in the new year.

The Athletics will play their 2025 home games at Sutter Health Park and share the stadium with the Sacramento River Cats minor league team.

Although the Athletics haven’t had much success in recent years, their fans took the last season hard as there was so much tradition and memories at the Coliseum.

The Athletics will be the second team from Oakland to move to Las Vegas in recent years after the Oakland Raiders also moved to the resort city.

It will be interesting to see how the Athletics look in 2025 after these major changes.

The post Athletics Make Major Front-Office Announcement appeared first on The Cold Wire.

Source: https://www.thecoldwire.com/athletics-make-major-front-office-announcement/

 

[Las Vegas Athletics]

Liam Hendriks Has Honest Admission About Last Game In Oakland

(Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

The Oakland Athletics have not made the postseason in the past four years with their last appearance coming back in the shortened season of 2020.

The 2024 season was another disappointing campaign for the team as they finished with a record of 69-93, which left them in fourth place in the AL West.

However, the biggest news surrounding the Athletics this season was that it was their last year playing in their home city.

Veteran pitcher Liam Hendriks recently revealed his honest admission about the last A’s game played at the Oakland Coliseum.

“I teared up, it was an emotional day, I mean, I spent five years there,” Hendriks said, via Foul Territory.

Former Athletic Liam Hendriks said he teared up watching the final game in Oakland. pic.twitter.com/JTq4CwLUBP

— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) November 25, 2024

The Athletics have been based in Oakland since 1968, when they moved there from Kansas City.

The team will now be transitioning to Las Vegas, which resembles the move made by Oakland’s NFL team, which moved to the city in 2020.

Hendriks has played 13 seasons in MLB after coming into the league in 2011.

He played for the Athletics from 2016 through 2020, with 2019 being the year that sparked a hot streak from the veteran pitcher.

That season, Hendriks appeared in 75 games and posted a 1.80 ERA, 25 saves and 124 strikeouts in 85.0 innings pitched.

Hendriks did take a piece of the legendary stadium for a memory, admitting he grabbed some of the mound dirt when he went there early in the season.

The Athletics’ move to Las Vegas won’t happen immediately as their new stadium needs to be built, and the plan is to open that ballpark in 2028.

As for the 2025 season, the Athletics will play in Sacramento.

The post Liam Hendriks Has Honest Admission About Last Game In Oakland appeared first on The Cold Wire.

Source: https://www.thecoldwire.com/liam-hendriks-has-honest-admission-about-last-game-in-oakland/