The Athletics traded away three of their top players last week in a roster overhaul that comes as the franchise is seeking a new stadium.
In a span of five days, Oakland traded starting pitcher Chris Bassitt, first baseman Matt Olson and third baseman Matt Chapman in an indication that the organization is once again looking to rebuild.
In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle’s Matt Kawahara, A’s president Dave Kaval blamed the situation on the Coliseum not generating enough revenue. The A’s have long hoped to move away from the Coliseum — where they have played since 1968 — and are in ongoing stadium discussions with the city of Oakland but have also been exploring a move to Las Vegas.
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“The Coliseum, it’s got great nostalgia, there’s a lot of great history there,” Kaval said to the Chronicle. “But it can’t generate the revenue that you see at Oracle Park, Petco Park, Camden Yards, these newer facilities that have suites and club spaces and opportunities for corporate partners. We’re just a big, hundreds-of-millions-of-dollars disadvantage. And that means we’ve had to operate in a more constrained environment.”
Kaval admitted that trading away Bassitt, Olson and Chapman is “very, very hard on our fans and the community.” The A’s finished 86-76 last season but missed the playoffs, snapping a streak of three straight years of postseason appearances.
“This is not the first time this has happened, as people know,” Kaval told the Chronicle. “David (Forst) and Billy (Beane) traditionally do an incredible job of restocking and building teams for the future.”
The A’s president said the Coliseum was “10 years past its useful life,” and that a new stadium was the franchise’s “north star.”
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Related: Chapman after trade: Long-term future with A's not 'realistic'
Chapman, who was a fan favorite in his five seasons with the A’s, said in a goodbye post on Instagram that the fans “are one of a kind and deserve a new stadium and so much more.”
In response to fans who might be withdrawing support in response to the roster overhaul, Kaval told the Chronicle that he was “empathetic and sympathetic about all the changes and the uncertainty.”
“And I just hope that everyone, from the elected officials to the community to the fans, understands that everything is connected to that and that we’re working very hard to get a resolution on that,” Kaval said.