2025 Athletics

2025 Athletics / Franchise: The Athletics / BR Team Page

Record: 76-86, Finished 4th in AL Western Division (2025 AL)

Managed by Mark Kotsay

Coaches: Mike Aldrete, Darren Bush, Chris Cron, Bobby Crosby, Scott Emerson, Tommy Everidge, Ramon Hernandez, Dan Hubbs, Marcus Jensen and Eric Martins

Ballpark: Sutter Health Park

History, Comments, Contributions

The 2025 Athletics were the first major league team not to include a city or state as part of their official name. They were based in Sacramento, CA (or more precisely, West Sacramento, CA, according to their home ballpark's street address), but did not include that information in any of their labeling, being simply known as "The Athletics". After being the Oakland Athletics for 56 years, they were now a team in transition, having had to leave the East Bay area at the expiration of their lease with the Oakland Coliseum before a new ballpark in Las Vegas, NV was ready to host them. In fact, construction on that new park had not yet started when the Athletics opened spring training in 2025, and there were still a lot of folks skeptical about whether the move would happen at all. In the meantime, the Athletics had made arrangements to use Sutter Health Park, normally the home of the Sacramento River Cats of the AAA Pacific Coast League, for three seasons - and to go about things without a city attached to their name. They did announce during spring training that they would wear a patch on their uniform sleeves with the words "Las Vegas", outlining their eventual final destination, although it was in fact a paid advertisement from that city's Convention and Visitors Authority.

The Athletics opened their season on the road, splitting a four-game series with the Seattle Mariners, before heading to Sacramento for their home opener on March 31st. In the game, they paid tribute to franchise great Rickey Henderson, who had passed away during the off-season, by having everyone wear uniform number 24 in his honor; OF Lawrence Butler went one further by wearing a customized set of cleats featuring the likeness of the "Man of Steal". The visiting Chicago Cubs proved to be rude guests however: they scored four runs in the 1st inning, including back-to-back homers by Michael Busch and Dansby Swanson off Joey Estes, then piled on 11 runs in the 5th and 6th innings to run away with the game, 18-3. Catcher Carson Kelly hit for the cycle for the visitors, while the A's turned to back-up catcher Jhonny Pereda to pitch mop-up relief in the 9th. The highlight of the game for the A's came in the 7th inning, when bat boy Stewart Thalblum took down an intruding drone that had flown over the left-field fence. The attendance was 12,192. Their next game, on April 1st, did not go much better, as the Cubs scored three runs off Luis Severino in the 1st inning, and never gave up the lead after that, ending up 7-4 winners.

If the Athletics had a good first few weeks, finishing April one game above .500 at 16-15, the month of May was a brutal reminder that they were still rebuilding. They actually won four of their first five games that month to climb to four games above .500 on May 5th, but it was all downhill after that. From May 14-24, they lost 11 straight games, then after a 5-4 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on May 25th, lost their next four by a combined score of 39-11. After another loss on May 31st, their run differential for the month was a whopping minus 78 as their pitching had completely fallen apart. They then lost their first game of June as the Toronto Blue Jays completed a four-game sweep, giving them 17 losses in their last 18 games. That skein would eventually reach 20 losses in 21 games before they turned things around.

There was a show of hope in June and July largely thanks to the contribution of young players, first rookie SS Jacob Wilson who was voted the starter in the All-Star Game after batting .329 during the first half, and then another rookie, 1B Nick Kurtz who made his debut on April 23rd, less than a year after being taken in the 2024 amateur draft, and was named the American Rookie of the Month for June. That was just an appetizer for a great month of July in which he batted .395 with 11 homers and 27 RBIs in 23 games, and became the first rookie to have a four-homer game on July 25th. In fact, that game, a 15-3 win over the Houston Astros was a candidate for the title of best ever by any hitter, as in addition to the four long balls he hit a double and a single, going 6 for 6, scored 6 runs and drove in 8. The Athletics went 13-11 in July, their first winning month since April. But lest anyone get too excited, they reminded evereyone that they were still building for the eventual move to Las Vegas, as at the trading deadline on July 31st, the A's traded two of their best pitchers, closer Mason Miller and starter JP Sears, to the San Diego Padres in return for four prospects. The jewel of that package was SS Leo De Vries, who at 18 was already considered the #3 prospect in baseball and was predicted by many to have the tools to become a superstar in the majors. Unfortunately, Wilson ended the month by going on the injured list, victim of a broken forearm suffered in Kurtz's incredible game. In addition to the two aforementioned youngsters, the A's had also signed two of their best playersd to long-term contracts before the start of the season, DH Brent Rooker and OF Butler, meaning that they had already assembled the core of a good offense for the move to Vegas; they still needed to work on the pitching, though, as it remained the team's Achilles' heel. It was no coincidence that the other three players obtained from San Diego were pitching prospects.

Awards and Honors

• All-Stars: Brent Rooker and Jacob Wilson
• AL Rookie of the Year Award: Nick Kurtz
• MLB All-Rookie Team: Nick Kurtz (1B) and Jacob Wilson (SS)
• AL Silver Slugger Award: Nick Kurtz (1B)

Further Reading

• Mark Anderson (The Associated Press): "A's find hope in Nick Kurtz and young stars as team eyes Las Vegas in 2028", Yahoo! Sports, August 4, 2025. [1]
• Theo DeRosa: "The first cycle of 2025 season belongs to ... a catcher! Kelly's cycle punctuates an 18-run, 21-hit outburst for the Cubs", mlb.com, April 1, 2025. [2]
• Martín Gallegos: "Will A's new park be hitters' haven? Not as much as you think", mlb.com, January 29, 2025. [3]
• Martín Gallegos: "Athletics unveil throwback gold uniform to launch new era", mlb.com, February 20, 2025. [4]
• Martín Gallegos: "'This is real': A's unveil Las Vegas jersey patch for 2025 season", mlb.com, March 7, 2025. [5]
• Martín Gallegos: "Butler honors late 'Man of Steal' with custom cleats; A's wear No. 24 at home opener", mlb.com, March 31, 2025. [6]
• Janie Mccauley (Associated Press): "Athletics bat boy Stewart Thalblum takes down drone in left field", Yahoo! Sports, April 1, 2025. [7]

2025 MLB season by team