A's, River Cats Plans in Sacramento for 2025

Jason Burke | Sep 12, 2024

Jul 23, 2024; Oakland, California, USA; General view of an Oakland Athletics helmet after defeating the Houston Astros at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-Imagn Images / Stan Szeto-Imagn Images

This morning began with a report from KFBK News Radio in Sacramento that the Oakland A's move up north may be in jeopardy, with agent Scott Boras making some big statements, including that the MLBPA has not agreed to the upgrades at Sutter Health Park. Today's report echoed some of the sentiments shared in the reporting of Susan Slusser and Charlotte Varnes of the San Francisco Chronicle last week.

Yet, today's reporting left many wondering just what was going on with the A's planned move to Sacramento in 2025, and gained enough traction that Major League Baseball issued to statement to the press.

"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."

While the statement cleared up next season, there are still questions to be answered to address player's concerns, ranging from the batter's eye, to how to deal with the heat while playing on artificial turf. MLB's statement almost pointedly says that the A's will be in Sacramento in 2025, but does not offer the same assurances for 2026, 2027, or potentially 2028.

This morning we also speculated that one way to make the A's arrival in Sacramento feasible would be to move the Triple-A River Cats out of town while the A's are tenants, which would eliminate the need for a turf surface.

We later confirmed that the Sacramento River Cats will continue to play at Sutter Health Park. In other words, both teams are planning to call Sacramento home for at least the 2025 season.

So in essence, nothing has changed. How it will all come together is still being discussed, but the plans are still moving forward for both teams in Sacramento in 2025.