TAMPA, Fla. — Commissioner Rob Manfred does not appear worried about the Oakland A’s plan to move to Las Vegas.
“The reality of the situation is that whenever you’re leaving a market where you’ve been for decades, and you’re going to make a move to a different city where there’s not a stadium, that’s a really difficult undertaking, and it’s not going to be seamless, smooth — there are going to be bumps along the road,” Manfred said. “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.”
It’s still unclear where the team will play for the three preceding seasons, from 2025-2027.
The team’s stadium lease in Oakland expires at the end of 2024, but the A’s on Thursday met with the City of Oakland to discuss the possibility of an extension.
“We had a positive meeting with the City and County,” an A’s spokesperson said in a statement. “We look forward to further discussions regarding a lease extension at the Coliseum for the interim period before the Vegas ballpark opens.”
The A’s have also explored Sacramento and Salt Lake City as alternatives. But moving away from Oakland prior to going to Las Vegas would mean a drop in TV revenue.
“There’s conflicting considerations that kind of point you one direction or point you another direction,” Manfred said. “So it’s not an easy choice as to where to be. But I do think they have been thorough in terms of exploring their alternatives.”
Manfred said Thursday that the 2025 schedule is to be finalized by July, so the league needs to know where the A’s are going to play next year before then.
The ballpark the A’s plan to build on the Las Vegas Strip is going to take up nine acres, a small allotment for a stadium. The team also has yet to publicly release renderings of the stadium.
“We believe that parcel’s adequate for a major league ballpark,” Manfred said. “I think the delay in the renderings is due to the discussions between Bally’s and the A’s as to how the ballpark — and what else is going to happen there — is going to be most efficiently designed to make it the best possible experience for fans. I wouldn’t read too much into that.”
Bally’s operates the Tropicana hotel-casino and the 35-acre site where the nine acres sit.
Manfred was also asked Thursday how MLB plans to continue serving fans in the Bay with the A’s on the way out.
“First of all, we do have a major-league team in the Bay Area; it’s not like there is not an available option,” Manfred said. “The Giants obviously still play there. But in terms of the other side of the Bay, the Oakland side of the Bay, our community involvement in terms of youth programming, all of the things that we do in major-league communities will continue. And I think it’s a sign of our commitment to the community that we will continue that kind of programming. And as I said, most important, there is a fan opportunity that’s not so far away.”
Besides the A’s and his plans to leave his job as commissioner in 2029, Manfred spoke about a slew of other topics Thursday at a press conference to open spring training.
Toronto, Chicago contenders to host All-Star Game
The final two All-Star Games that Manfred expects he will award in his time as commissioner are in 2027 and 2028, and the Blue Jays and the Cubs appear prime candidates to host.
“With respect to those two years, I am strongly influenced by two things,” Manfred said. “One, when did you last have a game? Toronto stacks up pretty well on that variable. I think Chicago is older,”
The Blue Jays last hosted an All-Star Game in 1991, the Cubs in 1990.
“The city being willing to step up on those issues is the other big variable,” Manfred said. “Our All-Star (events), what’s become most of the week, we need certain facilities and certain kinds of support in terms of security.”
Manfred still wants free-agency deadline
Some old labor fights are ever new again. Manfred was asked about Scott Boras clients who are unsigned as spring training gets underway, and the commissioner reiterated that he would prefer a signing deadline.
“We would prefer to have a free-agent signing period, ideally probably in December, with a deadline that drove people to make their deals, get things settled,” Manfred said. “We actually made proposals to that effect to the MLBPA, they were not warmly received.
“With the system we have right now, one of the tactics that’s available to player representatives is to stretch out that negotiation in the belief that they’re going to get a better deal. That’s part of the system right now, there’s not a lot we can do about it. But certainly from an aspirational perspective, we’d rather have two weeks of flurried activity in December, preferably around the winter meetings, where you’re all there to write about it, and you know, we all get excited about the upcoming year. That’ll be a project in the next go-around.”
But the MLBPA — which declined comment Thursday — has long been opposed to a deadline, largely because of the risk that players are forced to take deals they think undervalues them.
“After due consideration, we rejected their proposal as not being in the best interests of players,” said Bruce Meyer, now a deputy director at the MLBPA, in 2019. “We asked if MLB was interested in discussing other, more direct and tangible ways of incentivizing early signings and they weren’t at this time.”
Scott Boras has his own ideas about how to stimulate early free agent signings. (Kyodo via AP Images)
Said Boras at the time:
“They want to make the offseason more predictive as to when players sign, and the answer to do that is to provide incentive, not limitation, on the free-agent right. A player has six years, he should determine when he signs, that should be his choice, because he’s earned that right. Any restriction, any limitation on that timeframe would restrict the right. Because some clubs make decisions in February they wouldn’t make in December. And there’s obviously a strong history for that.
“If their intended purpose is to promote early signings and make the free-agent hot stove active and take advantage of it, the answer is to provide incentives. My advice is that for the bottom 15 teams — those clubs that they talk about as the teams that are of economic disadvantage — we would give them more draft picks if they sign a free-agent player within a designated timeframe.”
MLB acknowledges uptick in age fraud in Dominican
The Athletic last month reported on the increase in age fraud among international amateurs in the Dominican Republic. Manfred on Thursday acknowledged the increase.
“We pay a lot of attention to the developments in Dominican, it’s such an important source of talent for us,” Manfred said. “We are aware of the recent uptick. We are having ongoing conversations about additional steps to manage what is a very, very difficult problem. It goes to how age and ID is managed by the government in the Dominican. I’m going to the Dominican for (Red Sox and Rays games held there in March) and plan to meet with the president while I’m down there.”
MLB still eyeing injury-list violations after Eppler discipline
Former Mets general manager Billy Eppler was suspended by MLB for manipulation of the injured list. (Brad Penner / USA TODAY)
MLB is apparently looking into other possible misuses of the injured list, which landed former Mets general manager Billy Eppler with a suspension for the season.
“I don’t know,” Manfred said when asked if the behavior was more widespread. “I’ve read a couple of comments from players that we’re following up on about that issue. I think that if in fact it is more widespread, it concerns me. It’s a form of cheating. And I think that it’s incumbent upon us to try to figure out if it’s more widespread.
“But … one thing that I’ve been absolutely clear about: the fact that you allege that somebody else was doing it is not a defense, if we catch you. Everybody has their own personal responsibility on these issues. However, it happens, you get caught, you’re gonna get disciplined.”
Streaming package likely to have partner?
When MLB launches a national, in-market streaming package — even if it’s just for half the league — it might well be done in conjunction with a powerful streaming service, rather than the league simply operating and marketing the package itself as it does with the out-of-market package, MLB.tv.
“I’m not sure over the long haul that the digital side of the house is going to be MLB.tv, owned and operated by MLB,” Manfred said. “Just like on the broadcast side, we have already significant interest from major partners that would alter the economic proposition of that digital offering in a significant way.”
Red Sox-Netflix partnership
Netflix is spending the 2024 season embedded with the Red Sox, producing a show that’s going to air in 2025, and there could be more like it on the way. “I think it’s a really important first venture for us,” Manfred said, “and I think you’re going to see a lot more of it going forward.”
(Top photo: Julio Aguilar / Getty Images)