Oakland A’s fans clamored for their team’s ownership to invest significant money — real money — into the on-field product for years. On Thursday afternoon, the franchise, at long last, did just that.
Just in time for the move to Sacramento.
Right-hander Luis Severino has reportedly agreed on a three-year, $67 million contract to join the A’s, eclipsing the six-year, $66 million contract that Eric Chavez signed in 2004 as the largest deal in franchise history. The deal includes a $10 million signing bonus, as well as an opt out following the 2026 season.
Since Severino rejected a qualifying offer from the Mets, the A’s will give up their third-highest pick in the 2025 MLB Draft. The deal reportedly includes an opt-out option after one season.
The pact with Severino pushes the A’s payroll into the $100 million range, a move that would help keep “owners and the players association off their back with the revenue sharing money they receive,” according to a report last month by Bob Nightengale of USA Today. According to Cot’s Contracts, the A’s have never had a nine-figure Opening Day payroll, the closest being $92 million in 2019. Last year, the team had baseball’s lowest Opening Day payroll at $61.3 million.
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The signing is stunning because while the 30-year-old Severino pitched fine last season (3.91 ERA, 182 innings), it is considered to be well above market value. The A’s reportedly are having trouble finding free agents who want to play at the Triple-A ballpark as the franchise attempts to build a new stadium in Las Vegas.
Prior to signing Severino, the A’s largest contract on a free agent was its three-year, $30 million deal with Billy Butler.
It’s still very early in the offseason, but Severino has the second-highest average annual value (AAV) of any free-agent starting pitcher to sign so far this winter. Blake Snell signed a five-year, $152 million deal (deferrals notwithstanding) to join the Los Angeles Dodgers after his season with the Giants.
Prior to last season, Severino’s last full season was 2018. From 2019-24, Severino only pitched 391 1/3 innings. Given the A’s will play their next three seasons — and potentially longer — at a minor-league ballpark, the franchise will likely need to continue overpaying for talent.
Severino instantly becomes the ace of an A’s team on the rise, one featuring a litany of promising position players but lean on pitching. Last season, the team’s rotation finished 24th in ERA (4.37), 23rd in fielding independent pitching (4.24) and 25th in WAR, according to FanGraphs (11.3).
Prior to injuries, Severino was considered one of the best young pitchers in baseball, earning back-to-back All-Star selections in 2017 and ’18. From there, Severino missed a big chunk of ’19 due to a lat strain, then missed all of ’20 and most of ’21 after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Severino showed promise upon returning in ’22 (3.18 ERA, 102 innings) but struggled in ’23 (6.65 ERA, 89 1/3) innings before reclaiming his value with the Mets in ’24.
