Athletics seek to make noise in the west of the American League, can they achieve it?

The expectations with the team during their first year in Sacramento are on the ground, but in a west division without a clear favorite, the A’s could cause more expected problems.

The Ahthletics (who will not use the word sacrament in their name) will enter the 2025 season of the Major Leagues as one of the teams with the lowest expectations among the 30 franchises. The team that will play its first year outside Oakland comes from a low season that “surprisingly” awarded the greatest contract in the history of the franchise, which was for the Dominican pitcher Luis SeverinOy claimed to keep their best player in 2024, the designated Brent Rookeras well as his best young player, Lawrence Butler.

However, when we say that the team spent “surprising”, we do it because, although the team increased its total payrol MLB Players Association (MLBPA for its acronym in English), brought complaints against them and opened processes that could end in sanctions.

However, despite the fact that the motivation of Ace To spend it has been only to avoid problems with the MLBPA, they have given signs that at least they want to ensure some type of future. The contracts of Severino, Rooker and Butler They exceed 60 million dollars (each), something that this team had never done in the past, perhaps sending a sign that they will seek to compete within their possibilities.

As for their possibilities to compete, we are not saying, under any circumstances that Athletics Be better than Houston Astros, Texas Rangers either Seattle Marinersthe teams called to fight for the west of the American League And after the low season, there would be a case to say that Los Angeles Angels They are also a better team, but 2024 proved that the team that will play in Sacramento can fight you with some teams.

The history of 2024 of the Ace It was a story of two different parts. In the first half of the season, they were the disastrous team that everyone saw, winning only 37 of its first 98 commitments, but after the Star setthe team ended up playing for a 32-32 mark, far superior to what is shown in the first half.

Does this mean that we will see a miraculous version of the Athletics that will steal the division to the other teams? It is unlikely, but at least we know that the material they have is harder to crack than it would be thought and that could cost vital games to those organizations that compete in the face of the postseason.

Additionally, another factor must be taken into account. The Athletics They will play their 81 games as locals in a Triple A stadium, which represents a competitive advantage over the dimensions of Sutter Health Park of Sacramento.

In summary accounts, we will have to closely monitor the Acenot because of their possibilities to reach the postseason, but because of the damage they may cause to the contestants, especially those in their own division.