Rob Manfred suggests A’s fans become Giants fans when team leaves

Well, baseball fans, Rob Manfred did it again. He said something that probably left a lot of Oakland Athletics fans speechless.

Upon landing in Flordia for spring training, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred met with members of the media, where a variety of topics emerged, including the state of the A’s and their plans to relocate from The Bay Area to Las Vegas.

According to reports, the A’s organization met with city and county representatives to discuss extending their lease at the Coliseum. As of now, the A’s only have one more year of play set for Oakland. The meeting between the two sides reportedly went well, but no extension was announced.

If things don’t work out in Oakland, owner John Fisher and members of the A’s front office have already visited Smith’s Ballpark in Salt Lake City and Sutter Health Park in Sacramento, both Triple-A ballparks, as temporary homes after the 2024 MLB season.

Manfred said he expects the 2025 schedule to be finalized by mid-summer, so the league needs to determine where the Athletics will play next year sooner than later. But with Oakland potentially set to lose another team, reporters asked how the league will continue to serve fans.

“First of all, we do have a major-league team in the Bay Area; it’s not like there is not an available option. The Giants obviously still play there,” Manfred said.

Did you hear that A’s fans? Just switch teams. Why haven’t you thought of that yet?

Manfred went on to say the league will continue to be involved in the community and its youth programming, but the message was clear, he does not care about the fans who are potentially losing a franchise that’s been in Oakland since 1968.

“First of all, we do have a major-league team in the Bay Area. It's not like there is not an available option. The Giants obviously still play there.”

Rob Manfred spoke on how MLB plans to serve Oakland baseball fans once the A's leave.

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— Jake Mintz (@Jake_Mintz) February 16, 2024

In regards to the stadium, Rob Manfred expects the A’s will play in Las Vegas in 2028. Earlier this month, Manfred said he would be disappointed if the Las Vegas ballpark doesn’t open by the opening day of 2028.

“I am confident that the deal in Las Vegas is solid. That the A’s will build a stadium in Las Vegas and play there in 2028. We believe the parcel is adequate for a major league ballpark,” Manfred said.

He’s confident, but there are still no renderings of what the ballpark may look like.

When does MLB Spring Training start?

Both the Giants and A’s hit the fields on Saturday, Feb. 24. The Athletics face off against the Colorado Rockies and the Giants take on the Chicago Cubs.

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