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Year Two of Athletics baseball in West Sacramento is going to bring some changes to Sutter Health Park. After gathering feedback from players and coaches throughout their inaugural season in their new temporary ballpark, the A’s are making improvements to the stadium for 2026. The biggest change will come in the dugouts. One main difference between pitching at Sutter Health Park as opposed to other MLB ballparks last season was the lack of a connected clubhouse. It was something brought up at times by A’s starter Luis Severino, who had grown accustomed to heading inside the clubhouse between innings to either watch film or move around to keep his body warm, as a difficult adjustment. The A’s clubhouse will remain situated beyond left field. But for next season, Severino and the rest of the A’s pitchers will have a place to go besides the bench. During last week’s Winter Meetings in Orlando, A’s general manger David Forst told MLB.com that work is already underway on a room within the dugout designed for pitchers to utilize if they'd like to when they are not on the mound. The room, which Forst jokingly referred to as "The Severino Room," will be added to both the home and visiting dugouts. “We’re going to build a spot in both dugouts that is sort of like a 'privacy' area, for lack of a better word,” Forst said. “It’s where a starting pitcher can kind of get away from the game without having to go to the clubhouse. … We’ll get [them] some privacy in between innings.” |
Other changes to Sutter Health Park will include a full replacement of the playing field for the new season, as well as enhancements to the batting cages. “We’re putting a brand-new field in again,” Forst said. “They’re totally replacing the sod. That’ll happen in January or February. Some cosmetic stuff in the batting cage, too. But that little room in the dugout is the only real big challenge.” Playing at home proved to be a challenge for the A’s in '25. They finished with a home record of 36-45, as opposed to a 40-41 road record. As the year went on, though, they seemingly got more and more comfortable with their new environment. Through their first 27 games at Sutter Health Park, the A’s went 8-19. After that, they finished strong by going 28-26 over their last 54 home games. “I think our guys ultimately got past it,” Forst said of the early home struggles. “Second half of the season, we didn’t hear about it as much. Guys were used to the rhythm of it. I don’t think the ballpark was an issue after the first couple of months.” |
The second-half success is what gives the A’s some optimism heading into next season that they can get off to a better start at home. Last year from around this time through Spring Training, there were constant questions about how the team would handle playing at Sutter Health Park. Now, there is a comfortability in knowing how the ballpark plays, along with its advantages and disadvantages, which became a non-issue amongst players by the end of the year. “I think our guys will go into the season with a good mindset,” Forst said. “You won’t hear anything about the ballpark when we get there.” |
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MLB MORNING LINEUP PODCAST |
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In 1988, Jose Canseco became the first player in MLB history to pair 40 homers with 40 steals in one season. Which of these four players did NOT follow Canseco's footsteps into the 40-40 club? A. Barry Bonds B. Carlos Beltrán C. Alfonso Soriano D. Alex Rodriguez |
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“We’ve been very active in that market. Our group puts in a lot of time because I think we know how important guys in that position are for us during the year. One thing we do offer is opportunity. We have a really good track record of getting those guys to the big leagues, and not just for a day or two. Guys like Tyler Ferguson and [Michel] Otañez. Giving guys real opportunity to stick in the big leagues. That has served us well when we go out into the Minor League free-agent market and try to sell ourselves to players.” -- Forst, on the A’s recent signings over the past month of players with big league experience to Minor League deals, such as Nick Anderson, Joey Meneses, Michael Stefanic and Wander Suero |
• The A’s made their first major move of the offseason by addressing their need for bullpen help with the addition of veteran reliever Mark Leiter Jr. More >> |
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