The Oakland A’s have engaged in an extreme fire sale this offseason, as they have let go of Sean Manaea, Matt Chapman, Matt Olson, Chris Bassitt, and several others, while having not made any moves to improve the team.
Oakland sports fans don’t have much to look forward to in 2022 after losing so many valuable pieces that helped them rise from obscurity to become a postseason contender, a team which made it to the playoffs in three consecutive years from 2018-20.
The A’s current payroll sits at roughly $33 million.
Back in 1991, that was the highest payroll in all of baseball and it belonged to the A’s.
Now, there are players who are making more than that.
The Oakland A’s had the highest payroll in baseball in 1991. It was $33M that year, the very same number it is today.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) April 3, 2022
Party Like It’s 1991
This is quite shocking but given that the A’s have not done anything to improve their club and have instead resorted to tanking, it’s not exactly surprising.
Oakland wasn’t far off from reaching the postseason in 2021, finishing 86-76, just six games behind the New York Yankees for the second AL Wild Card.
One would think they might want to spend some money and improve their chances at competing in 2022.
But no, they chose to let everybody go.
It’s almost as if they’re acting like it’s still 1991, when they had the highest payroll.
They now are worth less than what several superstar players are making in 2022 alone and there is virtually no hope that Oakland will contend this season.
We’ll see if they continue to trade off valuable assets.
Perhaps pitcher Frankie Montas is next.
Given the Manaea trade, it would be unreasonable to expect them to be done moving pieces anytime soon.
Winning is clearly not their top priority.
NEXT: Athletics Are Torturing Their Fans With Lack Of Spending In Free Agency