"A team planning to just tread water, after all, doesn't try to land two former All-Star infielders at (by the Athletics' standards) fairly substantial prices. The A's obtained Jeff McNeil from the Mets before the club made its rather surprising bid to trade for Nolan Arenado, and the Athletics' offer involved eating more of Arenado's remaining salary than the $11MM taken on by the Diamondbacks once Arenado was ultimately dealt to Arizona."
"Obviously any team would seem a lot better if you erased their worst month from the ledger, but the evidence is growing that the A's may have (once again) put together the pieces of a contender after a lengthy rebuild. The common belief was that the A's were going to wait until they moved to Las Vegas before truly committing to winning, except the roster might be ahead of schedule."
The Athletics improved from 69-93 in 2024 to 76-86 in 2025 during their first season in West Sacramento. Both seasons showed stronger second-half performance, with 2025 starting 20-16 before a difficult May-June stretch. The team recovered to finish 53-46 after that downturn. Rather than waiting until their Las Vegas move to compete, the Athletics have aggressively pursued veteran infielders, acquiring Jeff McNeil from the Mets and making a substantial offer for Nolan Arenado. Though Arenado ultimately chose Arizona over Oakland, the Athletics' willingness to absorb significant salary demonstrates genuine commitment to winning now.
#athletics-roster-moves #mlb-trades-and-acquisitions #2025-season-contention #nolan-arenado-trade #oakland-to-las-vegas-relocation
Read at MLB Trade Rumors
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]