The Athletics are planning more changes to Sutter Health Park ahead of 2026, their second season playing in West Sacramento.

New rooms are being built within each dugout to allow players to get out of the dugout, keep their bodies warm, watch video or decompress. The rooms will serve as an alternative to the clubhouses that will remain beyond the outfield wall some 400 feet from the dugouts.

Upgrades are also being made to the batting cage building beyond the center field wall, and a new grass playing surface will be installed this winter ahead of the home opener April 3 against the Houston Astros.

“Building on the renovations completed prior to last season, we’re continuing to make updates across the ballpark,” the A’s said in a statement to The Sacramento Bee, “including enhancements to the dugouts and batting cages, reflecting our ongoing focus on supporting players and baseball operations.”

These rooms are being constructed after starting pitcher Luis Severino, the A’s highest paid player, complained about not being able to go to the clubhouse between innings during his starts, which he made a habit of throughout his previous nine years in the Major Leagues. Severino had a 6.01 ERA at Sutter Health Park compared to a 3.02 ERA in his road starts.

A’s general manager David Forst recently called the rooms “the Severino Room” in an interview with MLB.com, which first reported the additions to the dugouts from the Winter Meetings in Orlando.

The A’s are slated to play in Sutter Health Park, built in 2000 as the home of the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats, for two more seasons ahead of their planned move to Las Vegas where they broke ground on their new $1.75 billion ballpark in June. The team says it plans to open the ballpark in 2028.

The A’s made a slew of upgrades to the 13,800-capacity minor-league stadium before last season, it’s first since moving from Oakland, including building new home and road clubhouses, a batting cage beyond center field, new scoreboard, lighting and sound systems and fan amenities. The team averaged 9,487 fans per game and sold out seven of its 81 home games.

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