MESA, Ariz. — From the bright lights in New York to a single beam in Sacramento, from the nation’s largest baseball market to a rest stop in Yolo County, from the Big Apple to the Big Tomato.
Luis Severino is perfectly fine with all of it.
The A’s are small-time compared with what the right-handed pitcher experienced in his first nine big-league seasons, all in New York, eight as a Yankee and one as a Met. The 31-year-old left the glamour and glitz for a team that plays in a 14,014-capacity minor-league ballpark.
Of course, receiving the largest contract in franchise history, $67 million over three years, went a long way toward convincing Severino that Sacramento is the right place to continue his baseball career. He suddenly became a face of the new A’s, a step away from Oakland and, presumably, a step toward Las Vegas.
Not that Severino will necessarily set foot in Vegas as an Athletic. The contract runs only through the Sacramento years, and the A’s plan to settle on the Strip in 2028 or 2029. Nevertheless, he’s all in on contributing to the next chapter of A’s baseball, which starts Thursday in Seattle, with him as the opening day starting pitcher.
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“There is pressure in New York, 100%, because everyone expects you to win,” he said. As for Sacramento? “I would try to have the same mentality here. I want everyone to know when Sevy’s on the mound, he’s winning.”
For the first time since 2021, the A’s are entering a season with decent expectations. They’re finally overcoming owner John Fisher’s latest roster teardown when he slashed payroll and forced the trades of young stars while raising ticket prices at the Coliseum, the perfect playbook for relocation.
The A’s averaged 102 losses the past three years, but finally showed signs of life in the second half of last season, posting a winning record (39-37) in July, August, and September behind a lineup featuring designated hitter Brent Rooker and right fielder Lawrence Butler, both of whom joined Severino in the big-bucks club.
Rooker received a five-year, $60 million extension in January, and Butler got a seven-year, $65.5 million deal in March. Closer Mason Miller, center fielder JJ Bleday, catcher Shea Langeliers, and pitcher JP Sears wouldn’t mind a taste of Fisher’s sudden willingness to spend.
“Hopefully, we get more guys [making big money]. When they signed me, they told me about signing a few other guys, and they did,” said Severino, who doesn’t anticipate owning the team’s richest contract too long. “There are a bunch of kids here who have potential to get more than that. Hopefully, that is on their mind, ‘I want to be the highest-paid guy on the A’s.’ Hopefully, they push themselves to be the best.”
For the record, the A’s are forced to dramatically increase spending to qualify for the league’s revenue-sharing program. According to the collective bargaining agreement, their 2025 payroll must be one-and-a-half times higher than their revenue-sharing intake, and they’re expected to receive $70 million in revenue sharing.
The A’s, after breaking camp in Arizona on Monday with a 17-14-1 Cactus League record, flew to their new home, Sacramento. Tuesday is an off day, but players were invited to visit Sutter Health Park to get situated. The team will fly to Seattle Wednesday morning and hold a workout in preparation for Thursday’s opener.
The A’s first home game is Monday, March 31, against the Cubs.
“I think it’ll feel like a spring training environment up there,” Severino said of Sutter Health Park. “The good thing is, it’s going to be full every day. So we’re going to have a lot of fans out there, and I think that’s a plus for us. It doesn’t matter if we have the size; if we have fans supporting us, that’s enough.”
Whatever media attention the A’s get this year, it’ll pale in comparison with what Severino faced in New York, where he might have a dozen or more reporters at his locker after every start. With the A’s, it could be very few, sometimes just one for road games — the team’s website at MLB.com. (The Standard will cover select games in Sacramento, and that seems to be the case for other Bay Area outlets that once followed the Oakland A’s full-time.)
Nevertheless, Severino envisions being the standup, accountable guy he was as a Yankee and Met. As one veteran New York scribe said, “Sevy was always approachable and honest and sometimes self-deprecating — he once said he felt like the worst pitcher in baseball during a rough stretch.”
Severino said he won’t change now that he’s in a much smaller market.
“If you’re good, you’re good. If you’re bad, you’re bad. There’s nothing in the middle,” he said. “The good thing about the media, if you don’t lie to them, it’s going to be good. … That’s why I was good [with media] in New York. I didn’t hide the truth. I didn’t point any fingers at anybody if I had a bad day.
“I’m not going to say, ‘Hey, the catcher didn’t put down the good signs today.’ ‘The weather was this or that.’ I’ll say, ‘It was just not my day. I need to get better.’ … That’s going to be the end of it.”
The A’s rotation after Severino figures to be Sears, Osvaldo Bido, Jeffrey Springs, and Joey Estes. The left-handed Springs is also a newcomer, arriving from Tampa Bay in a trade. Miller, an All-Star last season, is the closer.
The lineup in Monday’s desert finale could be similar to the one used early in the season: Butler, Rooker, Bleday, Langeliers, Miguel Andújar, Tyler Soderstrom, Gio Urshela, Luis Urias, and Jacob Wilson. Second baseman Zack Gelof will open on the injured list with a broken hamate in his right hand.
On a relatively young team, Severino has stepped into a leadership role, which he embraces. Not that he expects to holler at anyone; he prefers to lead by example, including with routine and preparation. One of his first acts was purchasing custom suits for several of his teammates, making him a huge hit in the clubhouse.
“Even when we don’t have to wear them as a team, I like suits. I like to dress nice,” Severino said. “When I came up to the big leagues, CC Sabathia got me two suits. I thought that was the greatest thing ever. Now, I want to be the example.”