Sunday, March 30

Hello! Welcome to another edition of the A’s beat newsletter.

From the first day of Spring Training last month, the Athletics carried a different energy into camp, one that was absent around these parts over the previous few springs.

After entering a rebuilding phase following an 86-win 2021, the A’s have taken their lumps by enduring a couple of 100-loss seasons as they sought to develop that next group of players that will form their next wave of winning baseball.

It took a few seasons, but that nucleus is finally in place.

Coming off a second half of 2024 in which the A’s finished 39-37 over their final 76 games, the A’s have identified a core of players that they believe will be the ones to get them back into playoff contention this upcoming season. That group includes Lawrence Butler, Brent Rooker, Shea Langeliers, Mason Miller, JJ Bleday and Jacob Wilson.

Between that group and the additions of veterans such as Luis Severino, Jeffrey Springs, José Leclerc and Gio Urshela, the A’s took this spring as less of a competition for roster spots and more of an opportunity to sharpen the tools for a 2025 season filled with high expectations.

“This group believes in themselves,” said manager Mark Kotsay. “The culture is starting to come together. A lot of times, it takes time when you get new guys into the group to kind of assimilate. But from what I’ve watched over the last four weeks, they seem to all pretty much like each other.”

Of course, going from 69 wins, which the A’s did last season to improve upon their 2023 win total by 19 games, to competing for a spot in the playoffs is going to require another huge step forward. But with the way this group has quickly come together this spring and a mostly healthy squad outside of reliever Michel Otañez and second baseman Zack Gelof, both of whom will begin the season on the injured list, these young A’s will head to Seattle for Opening Day against the Mariners on Thursday at T-Mobile Park with no shortage of confidence.

“Nothing but excitement,” said left-hander JP Sears. “I can feel the buzz around the clubhouse. … Obviously, it hurts having Otañez and Gelof on the IL, but we have guys who are ready to go right behind them. Just knowing what our roster was going to look like early on gave us a little more confidence in camp this year knowing this is the group we’re going to be with all year.”

What needs to go right? Severino and Springs need to lead the way

The A’s entered 2024 counting on veterans Alex Wood and Ross Stripling to stabilize a rotation that had tied a Major League record 24 starting pitchers the year before, and that plan backfired as neither pitcher ended the season in the rotation. This time around, the A’s will lean on another pair of newcomers in Severino and Springs, two veterans who are still considered in their primes and bring a solid track record of success. Leading a rotation that includes Sears, Osvaldo Bido and Joey Estes, Severino and Springs staying healthy and pitching up to expectations will go a long way in helping the A’s achieve their goal of contending for the playoffs in 2025.

Great unknown: How will Sutter Health Park play?

Set to call Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento their new home for at least the next three seasons, the assumption has been that offense will go up as the A’s move from the pitcher-friendly Coliseum in Oakland to a Minor League stadium that is part of the notoriously hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. It’s probably safe to project that hitters will benefit while pitchers suffer, but we won’t truly know how extreme those effects will be until the season gets underway.

Team MVP will be … Lawrence Butler

Butler, who was rewarded with a seven-year, $65.5 million contract extension this spring, has been locked in at the plate and appears fully ready to live up to his sky-high expectations for a monster year. He finished spring hitting .375 (18-for-48) with a 1.026 OPS and has shown vast improvement as a defender in right field. Butler’s fantastic finish to his 2024 campaign generated plenty of excitement as to what could be in store for 2025. Adjusting his approach following an early-season demotion to Triple-A Las Vegas, Butler slashed .302/.346/.597 (.943 OPS) over his final 73 games with 20 home runs, 18 doubles, two triples, 49 RBIs and 14 stolen bases over that stretch. Add in the fact that Butler and the A’s will be moving to a more hitter-friendly home ballpark, and the 24-year-old outfielder could be a candidate for a 30-30 season.

Team Cy Young will be … JP Sears

Sears, who last year became the first A’s pitcher to make 32 starts in back-to-back seasons since Gio Gonzalez in 2010-11, has worked hard this spring on his offspeed pitches. The quality of his sweepers improved as camp went on, and he has also added a slider that allows him to contest both sides of the plate against lefties and righties. He also re-introduced a windup into his delivery, which helps with his posture and keeps his delivery upright, something he said was a problem for him at times in 2024. Still in the prime of his career at 29, Sears has the durability and the stuff to perform like a frontline starter.

Bold prediction: A’s will reach the playoffs as a Wild Card team

Between Rooker, Butler, Bleday and Langeliers -- a foursome that combined for 110 homers in 2024 -- the A’s are projected to have one of the more potent offenses in baseball this season. With an All-Star closer in Miller headlining an improved bullpen and Severino anchoring the rotation, the A’s will challenge for the American League West crown and ultimately return to the playoffs for the first time since 2020.

• Midway through spring, Kotsay told Max Muncy he wasn’t impressed and issued a challenge. Two weeks later, the A’s No. 7 prospect made the team’s Opening Day roster. More>>

• A look at the potential timeline for Gelof’s injury and how the A’s could manage second base in his absence. More >>

• Check out the upgrades coming to Sutter Health Park for the 2025 season. More>>

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