Luis Severino Joined a video conference on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Athletics A squad that hoped to make him not only the ace of their staff, but one of the biggest, most productive additions in franchise history. He was receptive but skeptical.
“I had a lot of questions,” Severino recalled in Spanish. “So many.”
A’s general manager David Forrest sat with manager Mark Kotse and a handful of other staffers as Severino quizzed them about the direction of a team that has lost 307 games over the past three years, the dynamics of a minor league ballpark. So they will call home. The next three seasons and the intentions of a franchise that spent decades as one of the sport’s most underrated.
A few days later, Severino, a 30-year-old right-hander who was among the more affordable standouts among a deep crop of available starters, received an opening offer that proved the A’s were serious. Within a week of that first meeting, he signed the largest contract in team history — a three-year, $67 million contract that nearly doubled his previous salary for a free agent.
“Neither I nor my agent expected him to sign a contract of this magnitude,” said Severino, who represents Nelson Montes de Oca of Clutch Sports Group. “It was impressive.”
The A’s, dormant in free agency for most of their existence, have spent the past two months negotiating a contract level they’ve never had, even at one of the most volatile junctures in franchise history. Even while visiting. They’ve moved out of Oakland, their home of the last 56 years, and will spend the 2025, 2026 and 2027 seasons — and maybe 202.8 season — playing at a Triple-A ballpark in West Sacramento while waiting for a new stadium to be built in Las Vegas.
In his 26th offseason in the A’s front office, Forst faces his toughest task yet: convincing major league players to play in a minor league stadium, joining a team in transition and a group of Leading the way is still learning to win. Overpayment is a necessity.
Forst’s pitch is built around a young core that the A’s believe is talented enough to build around, with glimpses of the team’s .500 record in the second half, as well as a manager in Kotse who Forst believes players are attracted to Forrest said the team’s on-field product, not to mention opportunities for playing time inside, has been well-received by free agents.
Their temporary stadium — Sutter Health Park, a 14,000-seat venue they will share. San Francisco Giants‘ Triple-A affiliate, The Sacramento River Cats — has been a major obstacle.
While meeting with potential free agents — especially Severino and fellow starters like Shan Mania And Walker BuehlerThe latter two are not yet signed — Forst and his group have done much to address concerns about amenities, seating capacity, weather, living arrangements and, in particular, travel to the clubhouse.
“I think there are a lot of unknowns,” Forrest said in his Dallas hotel suite during last week’s winter meetings. “It’s not a city that a lot of players have come to. When we were trying to bring guys to Oakland, at least that’s where people went. Just to the ballpark, they knew what the stadium looked like. ”
The A’s expressed interest in Severino shortly after he turned down a qualifying offer from the New York Mets on Nov. 19 and flooded his agent’s inbox with a PDF of his initial meeting 10 days later. .
One lays out how a change in usage patterns could help Severino improve after a year in which he went 11-7 with a 3.91 ERA in 182 innings for a Mets team this past season. Became one of baseball’s biggest surprises. The second was a slide deck with floor plans, photos and important information about the upgrades being made at Sutter Health Park, especially to help the natural grass withstand the rigors of two teams playing in the summer heat. A refilled irrigation system and a new one, two. – Story clubhouse with lockers, showers, offices, dining room, lounges and neighboring batting cages. However, that spot is located beyond the left field wall, requiring a fairly long walk outside whenever players go back and forth from the field. This is not a small problem.
“That’s the biggest difference from the big league experience in most places, is you’re a teammate walking across the field to the clubhouse with the little leaguers,” Forrest said. “We just came out saying, ‘Hey, there’s nothing we could do about it. But the clubhouse itself is going to be big league.’
On December 6, Severino held his introductory news conference from a ballroom at the Compton Hotel in downtown Sacramento, adjacent to the arena that houses the NBA’s Sacramento Kings. He then crossed the neighboring Tower Bridge and visited a ballpark that is still under construction.
“It’s a mess right now, but they say it’s going to be ready for the start of the season,” Severino said. “There’s still a lot of work to do, but they’re going to do everything they can to make their players comfortable.”
Severino wasn’t overly concerned about playing in an area that regularly sees 100-degree temperatures in the summer — “I’d rather have it hot than cold,” he said — but he did have Sutter’s health. Ask questions about park adaptations. The hitting A’s told Severino they believed it would play relatively neutral, at least compared to other ballparks that reside in Triple-A’s hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.
Severino also asked if the A’s plan to continue adding players to complement their young core — a group of position players that includes Jacob Wilson, Lawrence Butler, JJ Blade, Shea Langeliers, Tyler Soderstrom, Zach Jeloff And, finally, Nick Kurtz, the No. 4 pick in this year’s draft. He was told, rather categorically, that they would.
After Severino was signed, he was traded. Tampa Bay Rays For another starting pitcher, Jeffrey Springsa 32-year-old left-hander who has shown upside when healthy. On Thursday, they fulfilled their desire for an everyday third baseman by agreeing to terms. Long live Arshela. The A’s can still add a left fielder and are open to signing another starter for the rotation who could still use the help. He has also been public in his desire. Mason Millertheir young star is on the horizon, and has expressed interest in expansion. Brent Rookertheir best hitter.
In some ways, they have no choice but to spend.
The A’s are scheduled to receive 100% of their revenue-sharing pool for the first time under the current collective bargaining agreement, which stipulates that teams contribute 1½ times that amount to their major league payrolls. An industry source estimates the A’s will receive about $70 million in revenue sharing next season, confirming a report from The Athletic, which means anything from a $105 million payroll in 2025. Falling short would open them up to a players’ union complaint.
That’s a huge bump for a team that began the 2024 season with nearly $60 million in player cap space and then ended it without any financial commitment, and a void still remains. After Severino and Springs are added, the A’s luxury tax payroll — which is used to determine how teams allocate revenue sharing money — is estimated at $89 million, according to FanGraphs. According to (The terms of Arsheela’s deal have not been disclosed.)
“It’s something we’re aware of,” Forrest said of the CBA provision. “I can’t say that’s why we’re spending. We’re trying to get better.”
The A’s finished last in payroll each of the last three seasons and were among the industry’s lowest spenders during John Fisher’s 20-year ownership tenure. But their key decision-makers have promised to extend the payroll to Las Vegas, a natural source of frustration for Oakland fans who have spent years trying to make as many financial commitments as possible to them.
Severino’s contract, which gives him the ability to opt out after the second year, qualifies as an early statement. That’s $1 million more than the largest contract in team history — the six-year, $66 million extension given to third baseman Eric Chavez in 2004 — and surpasses his previous high in free agency. Blown, four-year, $36 million contract outfielder Eunice Cespedes. Before Severino, the last A’s player to receive more than $15 million and sign for more than two years was reliever Ryan Madsen in December 2015.
Money was probably the biggest factor in Severino’s decision; The A’s offered more than most predicted, especially considering the penalty associated with adding a player who rejected a qualifying offer.
But when Severino met with the A’s on Nov. 29, he talked about how impressed he was watching his Mets take two of three in mid-August. He told a group that included Forrest, Kotse, pitching coach Scott Emerson, coach and translator Ramon Hernandez, and assistant general managers Dan Feinstein and Rob Naberhaus that it reminded him of the 2017 team he headlined. Matt Olson And Matt ChapmanThe young stars who helped lead the A’s to three straight playoff appearances before being traded in this latest rebuild.
At one point in the conversation, one of the A’s staff members laid out a goal that, for Severino’s camp, spoke to the group’s conviction: Qualify for the playoffs in a minor league ballpark and the major leagues. Creating a logistical nightmare for baseball.
In exchange for comfort and security, the A’s offer hope and opportunity.
Also, in a surprising twist, money.