One of MLB’s top agents is speaking out against the Athletics’ relocation process to Las Vegas.
San Francisco manager Scott Boras is embarrassed by the turn of events, the team’s agent said this week, after a league-wide ownership vote last month unanimously approved the team’s move from Oakland to Sin City. -As told by John Shea of the Chronicle.
“Remember, all the owners, down to the commissioner’s office, approved this,” Boras told Shea in an exclusive interview. “This is what Major League Baseball is doing to one of its franchises. We’ve turned one of the great Major League franchises into an outlier. Why would they do something like this? I don’t know. I don’t know. I think it’s going to hurt the game.”
Mr. Boras, who represents many of baseball’s top stars, also represents four Athletics players: pitcher Paul Blackburn, second baseman Zach Geloff, catcher Shea Langeliers, and outfielder JJ Brady. He is also the agent for several potential players. According to Shia, it will soon be a major hit.
But the Athletics’ contracts to play at the Oakland Coliseum expire after the 2024 season, so these prospects don’t even know where they’ll end up playing if they make their debut in the next few years. The Athletics’ new stadium in Las Vegas is not expected to be completed until 2028.
There is also uncertainty for the team as a whole, and due to the recent trades of star players, the team boasted the lowest salary in the league this season. Las Vegas will be giving the franchise a fresh start, but while A’s owner John Fisher has promised to field a competitive team, it remains to be seen whether he will invest in the team differently going forward. still unknown.
“Sports is personal,” Boras told Shea, “and I think John is taking the direction of putting his own personal tone on this. And also reflecting the market and making sure his fans “There are players who don’t know who they are. “They don’t know where they’re going to be at any given time. And that’s really bad for baseball players. It’s never customary for other teams. I hope he considers that in his thinking and agrees.”
Boras also lamented to Shea that the Athletics had become a “nomadic” team in recent years, with no idea at first whether they would stay in Oakland or head to Las Vegas. The A’s players are currently considering where their home stadium will be between 2024 and 2028, so the final relocation remains undecided.
“For the players I have there,” Boras told Shea. ball. All of this makes them very different from the other 29 teams we know. ”
The ongoing relocation process for the Athletics has been tough for Oakland fans and players alike. And based on Boras’ comments, industry players have their own concerns about how things are unfolding.