A's David Forst says payroll expected to increase for 2025 in Sacramento

Jason Burke | Oct 5, 2024

Jan 17, 2023; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics general manager David Forst answers questions from the media as newly signed pitcher Shintaro Fujinami is introduced by the team at a press conference. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images / D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

While A's GM David Forst mentioned that payroll is expected to go up heading into next season previously, he said it again at Friday's end-of-season media call. He also acknowledged that it could be tricky selling free agents on coming to play in Sacramento.

"We do have to sell it" Forst said of pitching guys on playing in a minor-league facility. "I'd be lying if I told you I knew what the answers were going to be on the other side, once we start that process. We do expect our payroll to increase. We do expect to be active in free agency."

Forst also mentioned that the A's have a pretty great manager in Mark Kotsay and that they're a team on the rise, which are certainly two points in favor of any potential free agent signing with the club, but it's tough to see a long-term deal being worked out this winter with so much of the A's future still left uncertain. The A's don't even know what kind of surface they'll be playing on next season, let alone where this wild ride will ultimately end up.

Having to convince players to take their money doesn't sound like they'll be bringing in a ton of huge upgrades to the roster that could help them reach the postseason. The more likely scenario that we'll see ultimately play out could be the A's being active on the trade market, potentially taking on a contract that's not great, while attaching an arm to the deal in order to get a couple of guys that could fit on this club. Taking on that hypothetical contract would also make it so that the A's farm would stay largely intact.

The A's have five pending free agents: Ross Stripling, Alex Wood, T.J. McFarland, Scott Alexander and Trevor Gott. Those five combined to make right around $26 million in 2024, which is about 41% of the A's projected team salary of $63 million on FanGraphs.

Even with the 2025 arbitration estimates for Brent Rooker, Seth Brown, Austin Adams, Dany Jiménez and Miguel Andujar, the A's are still down about $17.7 million from last year with the majority of the roster still being at least a year away from arbitration themselves. In order for the payroll to go up, the A's need to spend at least $20 million this winter. Given that the A's presumably won't be too many player's first choice, they may have to wait things out until right before camp to pounce on a couple of free agents that draw their attention.

Forst said that they'd be on the lookout for some bats, potentially some improvements on defense, and as always, more pitching to help get through the course of the season. How they go about filling those needs will be interesting to see. With so many players being able to hold multiple positions on the current roster, it does open up the options just a touch, which could make it just a little easier to make a moderate splash this winter.