{"id":614185,"date":"2026-03-09T02:31:20","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T02:31:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/614185\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T02:31:20","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T02:31:20","slug":"as-core-expects-to-compete-immediately-upon-2028-las-vegas-arrival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/614185\/","title":{"rendered":"A’s core expects to compete immediately upon 2028 Las Vegas arrival"},"content":{"rendered":"

SUMMERLIN, Nev. — The A\u2019s won\u2019t officially be in Las Vegas until 2028, but the franchise has already invested in a promising core of young talent in hopes that it will establish immediate success upon arrival.<\/p>\n

After signing Brent Rooker (5 years, $60 million) and Lawrence Butler (7 years, $65.5 million) to major extensions last winter, John Fisher opened up the purse again this offseason, signing Jacob Wilson and Tyler Soderstrom to a pair of seven-year extensions worth a combined $156 million. The organization is also trending toward locking up 2025 AL Rookie of the Year Nick Kurtz, reportedly offering the breakout first baseman a massive long term deal this spring.<\/p>\n

\"Athletics<\/p>\n

RJ Forbus – The Sporting Tribune<\/p>\n

Athletics 1B Nick Kurtz (16) starts at first base against the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday March 8, 2026, in Las Vegas, Nevada.<\/p>\n

Youth Movement<\/p>\n

Rooker is the oldest player of the recently extended bunch at 31, but he\u2019s also the most established with two All-Star appearances and a Silver Slugger award. Butler is the technically the elder in the Athletics\u2019 youth movement at 25 years old, while Soderstrom is 24 and Wilson is 23. Kurtz, who tied for fifth in the AL with 36 home runs in just 117 games last season, is the youngest of them all at just 22.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After improving from 69 to 79 wins last season, the hope in 2026 is that there will be another significant jump that has the team hovering around Wild Card contention. If the process goes according to plan, the A\u2019s will hopefully be playing meaningful baseball as soon as they hit The Strip two years from now.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re definitely headed towards the playoffs,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cObviously, you see the money that the organization is spending. They\u2019ve put talent on the field to go out there and make a playoff run. I think that in a couple years, when we get here, we’re going to hit the ground running and we’ll have a pretty good team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Soderstrom echoed Wilson\u2019s sentiment and made it clear that when the A\u2019s do arrive, they\u2019ll be playing a style of baseball that\u2019s compatible with all of the other worldly entertainment options in the city.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to be a fun, exciting team to watch,\u201d Soderstrom said. \u201cWe’re going to be young, have great offense. The pitchers are going to be great, so it’ll be a good overall team, and we\u2019re looking forward to it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Athletics<\/p>\n

RJ Forbus – The Sporting Tribune<\/p>\n

Athletics OF Tyler Soderstrom (21) stands in the box during an MLB Spring Training game against the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday March 8, 2026, in Las Vegas, Nevada.<\/p>\n

Turning The Corner<\/p>\n

The newfound spending philosophy since the move to Las Vegas became a reality has taken some fans by surprise, but it\u2019s no secret that Fisher and company are trying to build a team that can compete as soon as it officially arrives in the city. Suffice to say, you shouldn\u2019t expect the Las Vegas A\u2019s to operate the way they did in Oakland.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe signed Wilson and Soderstrom to long term contracts so we can make sure that they’re playing in Vegas,\u201d Fisher said. \u201cWhen we get here, these kids are going to get better and better. What they’re going to be able to accomplish in Sacramento, and then down the road in 2028 and beyond here in Vegas is going to be amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

While most of the baseball world is understandably bullish about the A\u2019s potential in the coming years, manager Mark Kotsay understands that the team still has a ways to go from turning 79 wins into meaningful playoff contention, but he did acknowledge that the foundation of the franchise\u2019s future has successfully been laid.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re still building on the core,\u201d Kotsay said. \u201cThe only statement we made was that we improved from the previous season. We’re adding to the core. These young players seem to really thrive on each other. The culture of that core has come together. We made commitments to two more guys (Soderstrom and Wilson) that will be here in Vegas. That’s exciting, and I think that their expectation themselves is to continue to improve and to go out and win a division.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Athletics<\/p>\n

RJ Forbus – The Sporting Tribune<\/p>\n

Athletics owner John Fisher watches on prior to an MLB Spring Training game at the Las Vegas Ballpark on Sunday March 8, 2026, in Las Vegas, Nevada.<\/p>\n

Joining The Fold<\/p>\n

If those expectations come to reality, the A\u2019s have a chance to immediately establish themselves as winners in the city\u2019s rapidly evolving sports ecosystem. In the brief time the players have spent in the city, they\u2019ve already been impressed by the support the local community invests in its team.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s obviously a crazy city, with everything that it has to offer,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cThey’ve got some great support for the teams that are here now. Playing here is something that we really look forward to. Sports are important to the city, so we\u2019re excited to show the fans what we got and to be a part of it in a few years.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Opening Day 2028 is when doors will officially open at the Las Vegas Strip ballpark, the A\u2019s will be back in town for a six-game homestand against the Brewers and Rockies beginning June 8th and ending on the 14th.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SUMMERLIN, Nev. — The A\u2019s won\u2019t officially be in Las Vegas until 2028, but the franchise has already…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":614186,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2390],"tags":[291,537,5,545,1950,2140,1165,446,3223,4810,774,56,3224,3222,4215,4,169,459,28837,544],"class_list":{"0":"post-614185","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles-angels","8":"tag-angels","9":"tag-athletics","10":"tag-baseball","11":"tag-brent-rooker","12":"tag-jacob-wilson","13":"tag-john-fisher","14":"tag-la","15":"tag-la-angels","16":"tag-laangels","17":"tag-lawrence-butler","18":"tag-los-angeles","19":"tag-los-angeles-angels","20":"tag-losangeles","21":"tag-losangelesangels","22":"tag-mark-kotsay","23":"tag-mlb","24":"tag-news","25":"tag-nick-kurtz","26":"tag-tst-las-vegas","27":"tag-tyler-soderstrom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116196873948817222","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=614185"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614185\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/614186"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=614185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=614185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=614185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}