Death, taxes, and the A’s playing next season in Sacramento.
All seem to be certainties, at least according to Major League Baseball.
The league shot down reports Thursday that the organization won’t make the trip north on Interstate 5 while its new stadium in Las Vegas is built.
Powerful agent Scott Boras told a Sacramento radio station that the players’ union has yet to sign off on proposed upgrades at the ballpark that is supposed to host the A’s next year. (The Triple-A Sacramento River Cats are currently the primary tenants at Sutter Health Park.)
Boras hails from nearby Elk Grove, Calif., and said he expects the A’s to be back at Oakland Coliseum next year when the team’s current home changes ownership from the organization to the African American Sports & Entertainment Group.
“There’s a new party that owns the Coliseum that is now ready and willing to negotiate with the A’s,” Boras said. “Because they’ll get their full TV rights, and it may be a better deal on that stadium.”
The MLBPA declined to comment.
“It is a certainty that the A’s will play their 2025 season in Sacramento as planned. MLB is continuing to work productively with the MLBPA on the details of the transition,” the league said in a statement to Front Office Sports and other outlets. A spokesperson for the A’s pointed to the league statement.
Few around baseball are looking forward to playing in Sacramento’s ballpark next season, which has short dimensions and lacks amenities that major league stadiums can provide. It will switch to AstroTurf next season because of the wear and tear of hosting two teams all season. The Diamondbacks have AstroTurf but play in a roofed ballpark. At Sutter Health Park, the turf will be exposed to the sun daily.
A source familiar with the process says that the Sutter renovations are an ongoing conversation between the union and league, with some changes approved while others are being worked through. The source anticipated the negotiating to continue into the offseason.
“It’s going to suck when it’s 100–115 degrees in June, that’s all there is to it,” Giants reliever Sean Hjelle told the San Francisco Chronicle. Hjelle spent parts of four years of his career playing in Sacramento.
The A’s move to Vegas has been sloppy throughout the entire process. In February, the city’s mayor told Front Office Sports Today the team’s plans “don’t make sense.” Additionally, Nevada’s state senators have disagreed on how to pay for the proposed stadium.
But the A’s can only worry so much about their Vegas home while their temporary one continues to face hurdles.
