A’s fans unhappy about team trading away its stars
The A’s rebuild has begun yet again and more players could still be on the move.
March 31, 2022
Now that the lockout has ended and the offseason can continue as normal, the Oakland A’s have started their fire sale once again, trading away Matt Olson, Matt Chapman, and Chris Bassitt. They have also lost Mark Chana and Starling Marte in free agency.
“It’s a cycle that goes on every now and then. Obviously I’m disappointed, but it’s kind of something you can expect,” said Avid A’s Fan Andrew Holmes (‘23).
Before the lockout, free agents Mark Chana and Starling Marte decided to team up on the New York Mets. A few days after the lockout ended, All-Star pitcher Chris Bassitt joined Chana and Marte after he was traded to the Mets.
“It’s tough to say right now [if the return is good], they are all lottery tickets. The A’s have had lottery tickets in the past that have fizzled out. The Mets trade looks like potential starting pitchers,” said Psychology Teacher and Lifelong A’s Fan Brett Bower.
Following up this trade, they then traded All-Star first baseman Matt Olson to the Braves for a haul of prospects including Braves top prospect Christian Pache. In their final trade of the frenzy, the A’s traded third baseman Matt Chapman to the Toronto Blue Jays for four prospects including Zach Logue.
“The Chapman trade is to retool the roster and get fringe Major League guys to fill out the depth chart. The Braves trade [has] better prospects,” said Bower.
The A’s have come off four consecutive winning seasons and three playoff appearances. Last season, they finished nine games behind the Astros in the AL West and six games behind the Red Sox and Yankees for a wild card spot. So why exactly are the A’s trading away these players? Money. For years, the A’s have been towards the bottom in payroll, and the solution to that is higher revenue.
“In order for us to retain our talent, to have a much higher payroll, we need higher revenues. That comes with a new fan-friendly facility and we just don’t have that. The Coliseum, it’s got nostalgia, there’s a lot of great history there. But it can’t generate the revenue that you see at Oracle Park, Petco Park, Camden Yards, these new facilities that have suites and club spaces and opportunities for corporate partners. We’re just a big, hundreds-of-millions-of-dollars disadvantage. And that means we’ve had to operate in a more contained environment,” said A’s President Dave Kaval.
Although understandable, many still question the decisions of owner John Fisher and the rest of the front office.
“I think that the way that they are run, [the front office] prefers to profit instead of continue to win, and teams like that aren’t necessarily good for sports, but you can’t exactly stop it so just hope that the rebuilds are short, and things will be okay eventually,” said Holmes.
A’s fans have gone through this time and time again, and it’s hard for them to see their favorite players leave, but they are willing to stay loyal to their favorite team.
“It stinks that it happens, but it is what the A’s can do financially to be able to retool. I enjoy that they can be honest about the situation,” said Bower.
