Luis Severino on joining the A’s, impressions of Sacramento

In what was officially the franchise’s first press conference since its departure from Oakland, the A’s announced the signing of star pitcher Luis Severino on Friday afternoon.

Severino, who inked a record-breaking three-year, $67 million deal–the largest guarantee in the history of the A’s franchise, surpassing a six-year, $66 million extension for Eric Chavez that was signed in 2004–arrived at the Kimpton-Sawyer Hotel in downtown Sacramento to don the green and gold for the very first time.

Following a nine-year stint in New York that featured eight seasons with the Yankees and one with the Mets, Severino is heading West and into the unknown as the A’s navigate through unchartered waters.

The seldom-spending Athletics will play in West Sacramento at Sutter Health Park, home of the Sacramento River Cats (AAA affiliate of the San Francisco Giants) during the 2025-27 seasons as they wait for a new ballpark to be complete in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Adding talent in free agency isn’t something that the A’s typically do, but following whispers that the franchise was feeling pressure to reach the $100 million mark in roster salary, they made the first surprising move of the offseason by signing the two-time All-Star in Severino to a multi-year deal.

“It meant a lot for my family. I thank the A’s for the opportunity to be here,” Severino said when asked about his new contract. “I’m going to give 100 percent and be the person, teammate, and pitcher I can be. I’m excited to see what we can do. In the end, it’s about playing baseball.”

For Severino, a 30-year-old who went 11-7 with a 3.91 ERA and 161 strikeouts over 182 innings pitched during the 2024 season with the Mets, the signing acts as a fresh start–one that also puts him at the top of a major-league pitching staff following years of injury issues.

The Dominican Republic product took the mound in 31 games this past season, his first campaign with 30 or more starts since 2018.

Now, Severino will be the ace of an A’s pitching staff that finished the 2024 season with a team ERA of 4.37 (25th in Major League Baseball).

Not only will Severino be the Athletics’ Opening Day starter in Seattle, but he will also be one of the franchise’s faces —along with Silver Slugger Award-winning outfielder Brent Rooker and hard-hitting catcher Shea Langiliers—during a transitional period for the franchise in Sacramento.

When asked why he decided to pick to play for the A’s in Sacramento, Severino answered that this current Athletics roster reminds him of the teams that he faced with the Yankees in 2017 and 2018.

Severino started the American League Wild Card Game against the A’s in 2018, striking out seven batters over four shutout innings in a 7-2 New York win.

“When they played us in New York, this team looked like the 2017, 2018 A’s,” Severino said of his new team. “A team that had got to the playoffs, a young team that was hungry for going to the field and winning baseball games. I’m excited to be a part of this team and part of a new organization. I think we’re going to head in a new direction from now on.”

There will be at least one familiar face in the locker room for Severino as he reunites with former Yankees teammate Miguel Andujar. After playing together in New York from 2017 through 2022, Severino reached out to Andujar to pick his brain about potentially joining the A’s.

Between the support of his family and a positive conversation with Andujar, Severino had enough reasons to commit to the A’s.

“For me, the most important thing was my family, and when we talk about family, we talk about my teammates, because you’re going to be in the same room with the same guys for six months,” Severino said.

“I had a conversation with guys like [Miguel] Andujar, who told me about the atmosphere of the team, how they treat each other, how everyone is in the clubhouse. He told me he loved it there. He was excited. For me, that was one of the most important things.”

Of course, the A’s are a hot topic in baseball for reasons other than their play on the diamond.

A tension-filled 2024 season concluded with the franchise’s departure from Oakland and the Oakland Coliseum after 56 years in the Bay Area as owner John Fisher prepares the team for a permanent move to Las Vegas. While the city of Las Vegas and A’s sort out the construction of a $1.7 billion ballpark on the strip, the team will call West Sacramento home through at minimum three seasons.

Attracting big-league talent to play in a minor-league ballpark was viewed as a major hurdle in building on a 69-win season in 2024, but Severino—who viewed and toured Sutter Health Park upon his arrival in Sacramento—was not deterred by the work-in-progress facilities.

The A’s are working on a series of upgrades to make Sutter Health Park a major-league facility, adding a new two-story clubhouse for the Athletics, updating the away clubhouse, building indoor batting cages, adding video boards, concessions, and more.

“That’s the first time I’ve seen a two-level clubhouse. It’s going to be fun,” Severino said of the upgrades being made to the stadium. “Everything is coming along really good. We’ll see at the end, but I think it’s going to be great.”

If the A’s truly want to compete, they will need to add around Severino. In his closing remarks from Friday’s press conference, Athletics general manager David Forst made it clear that the green and gold will be active at the Winter Meetings, which are set to begin this weekend in Dallas, Texas.

“We’re headed to Dallas. A lot of things will likely happen there.”

More on new A’s pitcher Luis Severino

Luis Severino is a nine-year MLB veteran who found success early in his career with the New York Yankees, making two All-Star teams while pitching to a record of 54-37 with a 3.79 ERA and 788 strikeouts over 188 appearances.

The right-hander has finished within the top ten of the American League Cy Young Award voting twice during this career, although several injuries have affected his availability over the years.

After pitching in just 45 games from the 2019-2023 seasons, Severino inked a one-year deal with the New York Mets prior to the 2024 season.

The right-hander re-established his value with the Mets and will now become the ace of an A’s staff that will be entering the first of a minimum three-year stay in Sacramento as they sort out the construction of a new stadium in Las Vegas.

According to Passan, the A’s–who ended the 2024 season with a payroll of $62 million–intend to bump its payroll into the $100 million range as they look to field a competitive team during their stay in Sacramento.

More A’s coverage from Sactown Sports

On Thursday, the city of Las Vegas stadium authority approved a trio of agreements needed to greenlight construction on the A’s new home ballpark, which will be built on the Strip. Construction is expected to start in the spring of 2025.

Allen Stiles was joined by Mick Akers, sports reporter for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and the one who broke the news, to discuss the timing of their agreement and what it could mean for any hopes of the A’s remaining in Sacramento after their currently planned three-year layover in California’s capital.

The guys talked about that, along with the recent franchise-record signing of starting pitcher Luis Severino to a three-year, $67-million deal, with reports that the team hopes to take their league-lowest payroll into the $100-million range as soon as this coming season.

Watch the full interview below:

Do new agreements eliminate any chance of the A’s staying in Sacramento?

Upcoming 2024-25 MLB Offseason Dates

• MLB free agency begins the day after the final World Series game
• Players can sign contracts with new teams five days after the final World Series game
• December 8-11th – MLB Winter Meetings in Dallas, TX
• February TBD – Pitchers & catchers report for Spring Training

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