David

Forst

The A’s have officially listed their home location as “West Sacramento” and listed their new ballpark as “Sutter Health Park” in West Sacramento; however, as of now they have yet to designate themselves as the “Sacramento Athletics.” It’s unclear what they’re waiting on, but all signs point to the Athletics playing in Sacramento for a few seasons.

The move ends a 56-year stay on the East Bay and begins a new era of Athletics baseball. The agreement to play at Sutter Health Park — the home of the San Francisco Giants’ Triple-A team, the Sacramento River Cats — is a three-year lease with a team option for 2028 if the the stadium in Las Vegas is not complete in time. “We explored several locations for a temporary home, including the Oakland Coliseum,” Athletics owner John Fisher said in a statement. “Even with the long-standing relationships and good intentions on all sides in the negotiations with Oakland, the conditions to achieve an agreement seemed out of reach. We understand the disappointment this news brings to our fans, as this season marks our final one in Oakland.”

What a mess. The Athletics have been skewered nationally for their handling of their impending relocation to Las Vegas, which isn’t expected to happen until 2028. Drellich adds that Salt Lake City or a return to Oakland are the other two remaining possibilities for a temporary home. The biggest variable here for fantasy managers will be how the Athletics’ interim home plays from a park factors standpoint. There should be some clarity on the club’s plans in the coming weeks.

The vote was reportedly unanimous as every owner approved of Oakland owner John Fisher’s plan to force his team out of California. The A’s still have a lease to play in the Oakland Coliseum in 2024, but will not have a permanent home until 2028 when they will now move into a $1.5 billion facility on the Las Vegas Strip.

Drellich adds that a report from MLB’s relocation committee has been received by all 30 owners, and the move is expected to be approved, despite some questions regarding the viability of the market. Obviously the bigger concern here for fantasy managers is how the new stadium in Las Vegas will ultimately play from a park factors standpoint, but we’re a long way off from that information coming to light.

The saga is almost over. Governor Lombardo’s signature finalizes a $380 million financing package to help fund a proposed $1.5 billion, 30,000-seat baseball stadium for the Athletics in Las Vegas. The bill passed the Nevada legislature and state senate earlier this week. The final step in the process of the franchise officially relocating to Nevada will be receiving approval from the other major league owners, which could happen this week during the owner’s meetings in New York.

The latest development regarding the Athletics’ impending move to Las Vegas, which comes just a few weeks after the club announced a “binding agreement” with Red Rock Resorts as a stadium site, is expected to reduce the amount of public funding for the project to $395 million. The agreement will allow the Athletics to build a 35,000-seat retractable roof stadium on the southern end of the iconic Las Vegas Strip. There will be many more developments before this saga concludes.

“I think eventually there will be a Major League Baseball team there, and I think there’s a real chance that it could be the A’s,” said Athletics team president Dave Kaval. Oakland’s planned $12 billion stadium project at the Howard Terminal site was hit with a lawsuit in California Superior Court last week, which Kaval says “increases the uncertainty and puts a could over even a City Council approval.” The Athletics have been given permission by the league to seek relocation and it seems that Las Vegas is their preferred destination.

Martín Gallegos of MLB.com adds that a certification decision on the environmental impact report -- covering local transportation, housing and other factors -- should come in February, which would pave the way for a final binding vote on the $12 billion project later this year. This latest milestone puts Oakland one step closer to constructing a new ballpark at the Howard Terminal site. It’s an extremely encouraging development that advances the project, which has crawled forward at a glacial pace for years, towards the finish line and potentially secure the Athletics long-term future in the Bay Area.

Kotsay has been a member of the A’s coaching staff since November of 2015 when he was hired on to be then manager Bob Melvin’s bench coach. He does not have any previous managerial experience at any level. Joe Espada, Matt Quatraro and Will Venable are among the other candidates known to have interviewed for the A’s vacancy.