A's Front Office in a Tough Situation This Trade Deadline

Jun 8, 2025; West Sacramento, California, USA; Athletics pitcher Mason Miller (19) prepares to pitch to Baltimore Orioles designated hitter Coby Mayo (foreground right) during the ninth inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Back in December, the Athletics spent some money to improve their roster, landing Luis Severino on a three-year, $67 million deal, while also adding Jeffrey Springs' $10.5 million salary for the next two seasons. They then went out and extended both Brent Rooker and Lawrence Butler. The front office made some moves and spent some money, something that the team has been criticized for not doing in the past.

Granted, at least part of the reason the A's spent this past winter was to avoid receiving a grievance from the MLBPA for not spending enough of the revenue sharing that they receive. Regardless, the team took some big swings and improved the roster on paper.

However, this season hasn't quite gone the way that many thought it would go. The A's have been a roughly .500 team for much of the season, outside of a three week stretch where they went 1-20, which pretty much sank the 2025 season for them.

With the A's sitting at 33-49 entering play on Thursday, the question now becomes what the front office's plans for the deadline will be. Of course, they could go the easy route and trade guys on expiring deals like Gio Urshela, Luis Urías, Miguel Andujar, and Sean Newcomb, but those players won't bring back notable returns.

The one guy that could is Luis Severino, but that is more complicated than a simple trade. For starters, he was handed the largest deal in franchise history, beating the one for Eric Chavez by $1 million--a very precise record-setting contract. Moving him could be a public relations nightmare for the organization as they continue their quest to find new fans.

Complicating matters further would be that the A's may have gone a little above market rate to sign him, so even if a team is interested in his 2.27 road ERA, they would be less interested in the $25 million he's owed in 2026, and the player option that comes with him for 2027 at $22 million.

The A's would have to eat some of that deal in order to get some value back, but at the same time, he's been a solid pitcher away from Sutter Health Park, so he may bring back a piece that could be used to improve the roster further, while also opening up some funds on the payroll for next year. It also wouldn't hurt that he's been outspoken about playing in West Sacramento.

On the one hand, they have a guy that's pitching well, just not at home, and could be a good trade chip. On the other, they brought him in to be not only the ace of the A's pitching staff, but also the biggest contract that John Fisher has ever handed out. Severino's signing was supposed to signal a change in operations for the club, and trading him would say to the average fan that they're still the same A's.

We're unsure if it would be a good baseball move to trade him away, because the A's will presumably be aiming to contend in 2026, and having Severino would help helpful in reaching that goal. Yet, with the reviews that opposing players have given the field at SHP, the Athletics may have a harder time convincing free agents to play in Sacramento this coming winter.

So should the A's take the PR hit and trade Severino, hopefully recouping some talent that can help them in the process, or should they hold onto the guy that they've already locked down for 2026 and hope for a change in fortunes next season?

Last year we wrote about the added difficulty of GM David Forst's job, and received some pushback on it. Yet, these decisions right here are about more than just fielding the best team year-in and year-out. They have much larger complications that can impact the team's bottom line, and the club's relocation efforts, too.

The A's don't necessarily need to be perfect in their lead-up to Las Vegas, but they certainly need some positive headlines so that the local fans welcome them with open arms instead of already being turned off by how the club operates.

While Severino would be the most likely player to get moved, the same thought process holds true for a number of players on the roster, like Mason Miller, Tyler Soderstrom, and a slew of other pre-arb guys. The team is close to competing, but they also need to improve their pitching and defense in order to reach that next level.