#oakland-as

#oakland-as

The Oakland A's last played baseball in this city over a year ago, but the franchise still holds both a potential ownership stake in the Coliseum and the decisive ability to reject groups that seek a longer residency there. It is an uncomfortable arrangement that comes at a turning point for the Coliseum property, where lucrative private events could bring an end to live sports played at the iconic stadium.

Front Office Sports reported on Tuesday that the A's, who have had issues getting a ballpark going in their future home city, have been rebuffed in attempts to register "Las Vegas Athletics" with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. This is reportedly the second failed attempt to trademark the new name, something that initially bewildered experts. "The examiner is taking this very literally," trademark attorney Josh Gerben told FOS.

The A's added to their infield with this week's acquisition of Jeff McNeil from the Mets. The A's sent a lottery ticket pitching prospect (Yordan Rodriguez) while taking on $10MM of the $17.75MM remaining on the veteran's contract. Adding help at one of second or third base had been on the A's checklist since the beginning of the offseason. It seems they're content with one outside pickup.

Ha-Seong Kim is back in Atlanta after signing a $20MM deal to remain the club's starting shortstop. He took a one-year contract that'll allow him to get back to free agency after what he hopes to be a healthy season. ESPN's Jeff Passan reported last night that Kim had declined multi-year offers. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic writes that the A's proposed a four-year, $48MM deal. It's unclear if that would have included any opt-out opportunities, though it seems safe to assume they wouldn't have risked a four-year commitment that allowed him to opt out after just one season.

"Without naming anyone, we've made offers," Forst said. "We're having conversations here. I'm hopeful we'll make progress."

Second baseman underwent surgery after dislocating his left shoulder with two weeks remaining in the regular season. Meanwhile, the team announced last week that third baseman Brett Harris underwent surgery to repair the UCL in his left thumb (link via Jason Burke of Sports Illustrated). The injuries cloud what were already the two weakest positions in the lineup heading into the winter.

We're really coming into the final stretch of the regular season! It's certainly nice to already have the series win secured, thanks to the offense waking up and our pitchers shutting down the talented and surprisingly powerful A's hitters. Now we can go for a good ol' sweep, all the more desired given that we're tied with the Yankees for first place in the Wild Card and the Mariners are on a win streak.