Trailing in the league, A’s set sights on building a roster for their 2028 Vegas debut
The Athletics are in their first year of a three-season stopover in Sacramento, where team officials and players are looking past their losing record toward building a competitive lineup before moving into the Las Vegas ballpark.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — As he sat in the Athletics clubhouse at Sutter Health Park two days before Major League Baseball’s trade deadline, General Manager David Forst said much of what the team has worked on in terms of players is focused on 2028 — when the franchise is expected to begin playing in Las Vegas.
“It’s important for us to be competitive, win and try to get back to a playoff window,” said Forst, who is in his 10th season as the A’s top baseball executive. “It starts with a foundation of a core group of players. When you look at this roster now, it's easy to see what the team would look like in the new ballpark.”
Forty-eight hours later, the A’s traded arguably two of the team’s best pitchers, closer Mason Miller and starter JP Sears, to the San Diego Padres for four players, including shortstop Leo De Vries, an 18-year-old from the Dominican Republic who was rated as the Padres' No. 1 prospect and the third-ranked prospect in baseball overall, according to MLB.com.
The move addressed the team’s future, even if De Vries isn’t quite ready to patrol the infield at the A’s $2 billion ballpark on the Strip in three years.
After a tumultuous final two seasons in Oakland — the team’s home for 56 years — players and management welcomed a different topic: the team’s growing nucleus of young, talented players ahead of the move to Las Vegas.
The A’s started the season strong, going 20-16 through early May, before losing 20 out of their next 30 games, including 11 straight. The A’s are in last place in the American League West, 15 games out of first place as of Monday night — a familiar position for the team, based on its performance over the last few seasons.
Through 58 home games, the team has averaged 9,658 fans at Sutter Health Park and has drawn crowds of more than 12,000 seven times. The A’s had a season-high attendance of 12,332 on July 4 for a game with the San Francisco Giants. On Monday, the A’s drew their lowest home crowd of the season — 7,731 fans — to see the Tampa Bay Rays.
Meanwhile, A’s players have made headlines for their on-field performance.
First baseman Nick Kurtz, 22, became the first rookie and 20th player in Major League Baseball history to hit four home runs in one game during a 15-3 win over the Houston Astros on July 25.
A week earlier, rookie Jacob Wilson, 23, was voted by fans to be the starting shortstop for the American League at the All-Star Game. Designated hitter Brent Rooker, 30, was also named to the All-Star team and competed in the annual home run derby contest.
In back-to-back weeks, rookie outfielder Denzel Clarke, 25, made home run-robbing catches that became ESPN SportsCenter highlights.
“We have a lot of guys that can do different things, and we’re showing that,” Clarke said. “We have a great squad forming here.”
Athletics catcher Shea Langeliers acknowledged Las Vegas is on the minds of the team, which is now three-quarters of the way through the first of a planned three-year schedule of playing home games in the 14,000-capacity minor league ballpark it shares with the Triple-A Sacramento Rivercats. Langeliers, 27, now in his third full season with the A’s, said players often discuss the Las Vegas stadium.
“It's something in the future,” he said. “We know we're going to wind up there. As players, you try to stay grounded and focused on what's right in front of you.”
A’s Manager Mark Kotsay, who is signed through the 2028 season and has purchased a home in Henderson, said in an interview before a game with the Seattle Mariners, the core group of players is in “the development stage,” where performances on the field are getting noticed.
“I think there's a lot to get excited about if you're sitting in Las Vegas anticipating this team being there in 2028,” Kotsay said. “We have long-term players on this roster right now.”
Rooker signed a five-year, $60 million contract extension in January, while outfielder Lawrence Butler was signed a month later to a seven-year, $65 million contract with various escalators that push its value to $87.5 million.
A’s management cited a clause that gives the team control over the contractual status of a player for six years after they make their Major League Baseball debut. With Las Vegas in mind, that’s any player who made it to the Oakland Coliseum in 2022 or after.
Langeliers is playing under a one-year, $770,000 contract that expires after the season, but he is still under team control this year. It’s expected that the starting catcher, who in 88 games this season is hitting a career-best .276 with 24 home runs, will get a long-term deal.
“There are a lot of factors that come into play as we build this group,” Langeliers said, adding that he got to know some members of the Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators when he had a rehab assignment with the team in June. Some could be with the A’s in 2028.
Forst said the A’s and Aviators will benefit by “a tremendous synergy” when clubs are separated by roughly 13 miles after the major league team moves to Las Vegas.
“There are great baseball fans in Vegas who have supported the Triple-A team for decades,” Forst said. “From my proximity, it will be much easier to keep tabs on both ball clubs.”
Las Vegas baseball fans had a brief look at some of the A’s current stars.
Wilson played 26 games with Las Vegas in 2024, batting just under .400 before joining the A’s.
Kurtz, the A’s No. 1 draft pick out of Wake Forest University in 2024, played 20 games in Las Vegas before getting called up to the A’s on April 23. In 79 games, he’s hit 23 homers and is considered a leading candidate for the American League’s Rookie of the Year.
The team’s top draft pick this season, Florida State left-handed pitcher Jamie Arnold, said he was looking forward to playing in Las Vegas. Although he’s 21, he said he hasn’t had a reason to visit Southern Nevada before.
A’s television commentator Dallas Braden, who played four seasons with the team before retiring to the broadcast booth, said the excitement about the ballclub with the young talent will grow as the move to Las Vegas comes into focus.
Braden, who was the emcee at the stadium groundbreaking event in June, had a message for the future Las Vegas A’s fanbase.
“There are things about this team and players that will grab your attention and turn you into fans early,” Braden said.
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