Major League Baseball is doing some damage control on Thursday after top agent Scott Boras suggested the Oakland Athletics’ planned move to Sacramento may be in jeopardy.
In an interview with KBFK in Sacramento, Boras claimed the MLB Players Association has yet to sign off on planned upgrades to Sutter Health Park to make the stadium MLB-ready. Boras said there are serious concerns about health and safety concerns over the installation of artificial turf and the subsequent heat it could generate, and also suggested that the new owners of the Oakland Coliseum are eager to negotiate with the A’s to potentially bring them back for 2025.
MLB issued a statement that largely dismissed Boras’ comments, stating that the league is working with the MLBPA on the Sacramento move, and that the A’s playing there next season is a “certainty.”
MLB statement: “It is a certainty that the A’s will play their 2025 season in Sacramento as planned. MLB is continuing to work productively with the MLBPA on the details of the transition."
— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) September 12, 2024
The Athletics have already been approved for a move to Las Vegas, but their new stadium there is not expected to be ready until the 2028 season. A lengthy dispute with the city of Oakland led the team to decide to temporarily move to Sacramento for three seasons until the ballpark is ready, though both the move and the process that has gone into it have both been criticized.
Ultimately, there is no indication that the move to Sacramento is in jeopardy, even if the MLBPA has yet to agree to certain things. That will not stop the criticism, especially since owner John Fisher keeps attracting bad publicity with some of his public statements and moves.
