SEVERINO & THE A'S ARE ON THE OUTS - COULD HE BE ON THE MOVE?

We just saw Luis Severino pitch in the Bronx for the first time since he left after the 2023 season. It must be weird pitching in Yankee stadium again after he bragged about how much easier it was to pitch in Queens then in the Bronx. Orange and Blue agreed with him, enough to establish himself as a viable starter again and cash in with the A's.

It's not such a happy homecoming for Sevy though. He followed the money and cashed in on a three-year, $67 million contract with the A's. It was a splash the A's have never made before....and one they felt they needed to make. It's hard to attract talent when you are the A's and average more than 100 losses in your last three seasons. Now add that the A's don't have a major league stadium to play in right now and that just went from really hard to nearly impossible to attract players. Sevy took the bait, he took the money the A's were offering because no one else was.

And now he is unhappy, read more HERE. Sevy wants a REAL stadium to pitch in.
"We don't have that at home right now. It's not the same. It's not the same atmosphere. We don't have a lot of fans. Our clubhouse is in left field. So, when we play day games, we have to just be in the sun. There's no air conditioning there, too. It's really tough."

Welcome to playing in Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, Sevy. Aside from the fact that there are no MLB caliber amenities to offer, even when the A's played in the Coliseum, they didn't have a lot of fans, either. It's not like people were showing up in droves to see the A's play even bigger name teams. You get paid big money to play in a minor league park. You ignored the situation at hand for the money. 

So now the A's front office is unhappy that Sevy is talking about how unhappy he is. They are ready to trade him, but that won't be easy. Sevy could be one of the most attractive starters available, so while that should work in his favor it might not be that easy.

This trade deadline could look a lot different. With an expanded playoff format there are many teams that are not buried in the standings and can still fight their way into possible playoff berth. This means a lack of teams in "sell off" mode. Not good if you are looking to buy, but this could be a great reason for the A's to try and cash in and sell.

There's just one problem. Sevy's road and home splits are night and day. He flourishes on the road, before Sunday's game he had a 2.27 ERA, but a 6.79 ERA at home....and no wins. Very different story. Would a team take Sevy in hopes to help his splits better and make a run into the postseason? Maybe, but paying him upwards of $57 million left on his deal is another story. And to make it more interesting, as much as the A's front office wants to trade him, it might cause more problems than solve. Shedding Sevy's contract would risk potential grievances from MLB Players Association, read more HERE. It is estimated "The A's could receive $70MM or more in revenue sharing after drawing the worst attendance figures in baseball last year, which would mean the club needs to reach a player payroll of $105MM or more for luxury tax purposes in 2025 in order to avoid risking a grievance." The A's need to add payroll to avoid grievances, not reduce. 

So if this grievance wasn't a real possibility, Sevy might be on the move. But it's more likely that Sevy and the A's are stuck with each other....so they better make the best of it. Severino has not held back, everyone knows he is unhappy about pitching at a minor league stadium. Unfortunately, that was an issue he was well aware of when he agreed to terms with the A's who won't have a major league stadium for a couple more years. He chose the money. Now he's gotta deal with it. 

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj