Vagabond A’s enter Sacramento era with improved roster, playoff expectations

Tyler Soderstrom left, and Lawrence Butler are part of an upgraded A’s roster for their first season in Sacramento.

MESA, Ariz. (AP) — The Athletics have moved about an hour east from Oakland to the Sacramento area, where they will be based in a minor league ballpark for the next three seasons while hoping a more permanent home in Las Vegas will be ready in 2028.

If this doesn’t sound like the ideal situation for a Major League Baseball franchise, that’s because it’s not. But these vagabond A’s enter their Sacramento era with something a little unexpected considering the circumstances: playoff expectations.

“It’s different,” slugger Brent Rooker said. “The emphasis is always on winning and that’s always the main goal. But when you’re playing at this level against this kind of competition, there’s a certain barrier to entry in terms of you have to have good enough players, who have had enough success and confidence before that winning becomes realistic.

“Now we’ve reached that point.”

The Athletics look to be a contender in the AL West, which doesn’t have an obvious favorite. They were 69-93 last season and haven’t made the playoffs since 2020 but were 32-32 after the All-Star break.

During the offseason, owner John Fisher did something that’s been rare in the recent past — spend money. Rooker signed a $60 million, five-year deal to stay with the franchise and the A’s signed a quality starting pitcher in right-hander Luis Severino, who agreed to a $67 million, three-year contract.

Last week, the Athletics extended manager Mark Kotsay in a deal that could keep him with the franchise through 2029.

“There’s a sense of comfort for a lot of guys — we know who we are,” outfielder JJ Bleday said. “I feel like everyone has their spots and that’s a good thing to have. It’s good to come into spring training and know it’s yours to lose.”

The core of position players includes Rooker, Bleday, outfielder Lawrence Butler and catcher Shea Langeliers. Severino heads an intriguing rotation. Closer Mason Miller has one of baseball’s best arms, throwing a major league high 510 pitches at 100 mph or more last year, 49.8% of his total.

Rooker’s $60 million deal might have been the most important move of the offseason. The 30-year-old didn’t get established in the big leagues until 2023, when he was surprise All-Star. He was even better last season, finishing with a .293 batting average, 39 homers and 112 RBIs.

“The cool part of any success that I’ve had is that it puts me in a position to take on a leadership role in this clubhouse,” Rooker said. “It’s something I’m going to embrace and I’m going to try to make the very, very best of it.”

The optimism around the A’s is refreshing for players after a tough few seasons. They were 60-102 in 2022 and 50-112 games in 2023 before a 19-win improvement last year.

“I think we’re very capable of taking another step forward,” Langeliers said. “We win 19 more games this year and we’re competing for a wild-card spot. Realistically, the goal is competing in our division and then we’ll see where we’re at in August and September.”

Even though players appreciated the fans who came to the Oakland Coliseum and were sad to leave, the giant stadium could feel a little empty on most nights. Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, which they will share with San Francisco’s Triple-A River Cats, seats about 14,000, far lower than most big league ballparks. But that also means there will be more sellouts.

“I think it’s going to be intimate in a good way,” Bleday said. “We’re all for having games sold out. Having that energy is going to be great and it’s going to bounce back to