The Oakland Athletics announced that the club has extended Mark Kotsay’s contract as manager through the 2028 season with an option for 2029. That means that, if their plans for the Las Vegas stadium go ahead, Kotsay will manage the team during its three or four-year stay at Sutter Health Park with the opportunity to lead the team when it moves to Las Vegas in 2028 or 2029.
Kotsay, 49, has managed the A’s for three seasons and has a 179-307 record as the team went through a roster rebuild during its last three seasons in Oakland. The team is coming off a 69-93 finish in the 2024 season that included a 32-32 record after the All-Star break.
A’s looking to be competitive in 2025
The A’s believe their young roster has the opportunity to hit its stride in West Sacramento and remain competitive in 2025 with the additions of Luis Severino and Jeffrey Springs to the top of the starting rotation and Gio Urshela at third base
The team also signed slugger Brent Rooker to a five-year, $60 million contract after he hit 39 home runs with 112 RBIs last season, earning Silver Slugger recognition as a designated hitter. He finished 10th in the MVP voting.
The normally low-spending A’s made significant investments in the roster this offseason. Severino’s $67 million contract was the largest in club history, while Rooker’s was not far behind. The team is set to receive a share of 100% of the league’s shared revenue for the first time since the last collective bargaining agreement was signed in 2022, which required the A’s to spend 150% of what they received from shared revenue.
The story of Mark Kotsay
Kotsay played in the majors for 17 seasons, including four in center field for the A’s. He played for seven teams and arguably had his best season in 2004, when he hit .314 with a career-high 15 home runs.
Kotsay became the club’s 31st manager when he was hired in December 2021 and initially signed a three-year contract through 2024 with a club option for 2025
The team exercised that option after the 2023 season. He is the sixth manager of the team in the last 39 years, joining Tony La Russa (1986-95), Art Howe (1996-2002), Ken Macha (2003-06), Bob Geren (2007-11) and current San Francisco Giants manager Bob Melvin (2011-21).
The Athletics’ move
The A’s announced last April that they would temporarily relocate to West Sacramento after they were unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease at the Oakland Coliseum before it expires in 2024
The club plans to begin construction of a $1.75 billion domed stadium on the Las Vegas Strip during the second quarter of 2025. They plan to open the stadium in 2028, but have a deal to keep playing in Sacramento until 2028 if it’s not ready.
The A’s will share Sutter Health Park, which has a capacity of 14,000, with the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats, the San Francisco Giants’ top minor league affiliate. In January, the A’s announced that they had sold out all of their season tickets for their first season in the capital region.
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