A's signal premature end to offseason spending

General view of an Oakland Athletics cap. Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports

A's announce spring training invites signaling premature end to offseason spending

By Aaron Somers | Last updated 11/29/23

Major League Baseball's offseason is moving at full speed with the Winter Meetings rapidly approaching. Few expected the Oakland A's to be aggressive on the free agent market, particularly given ownership's focus on their pending move to Las Vegas.

Still, the team has shown little evidence that they are even actively looking to make additions to their roster.

On Wednesday, the club announced 22 non-roster (i.e. players not already on the 40-man roster) invitations to spring training.

The Oakland A’s announced 22 non-roster invitees to Spring Training today. The list includes 13 players who were in the A’s organization last year and nine players signed to minor league contracts this offseason. The complete list: pic.twitter.com/TyklMTViS8
— Oakland A's Communications (@AthleticsPR) November 29, 2023

Every team brings non-roster players to spring training each year, including a mix of minor league free agent signings and prospects the club simply wants to expose to a big league clubhouse.

What's curious about Oakland's announcement, however, is simply the timing. Teams won't typically make announcements like this until closer to spring training reporting dates.

The A's payroll in 2023, per Spotrac, came in just above $61M. Their projected mark for 2024 is under $36M, suggesting the club should have money to make some modest additions but it seems clear based on their actions that likely will not happen.

Oakland's roster projections are being likened to a classic movie, "Major League," for increasingly good reason. Of course, in this case, ownership doesn't need the team's attendance to tank to facilitate the move.

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