In recent years, the A’s have been known for being cheap, not aggressive, and content with losing.

However, in the 2024-2025 offseason, it’s time for those narratives to be put to sleep with the moves they’ve made.

Despite or perhaps because of the fact they are no longer in Oakland, the A’s have opened up their pocketbook.

Even though the A’s will be playing in Sacramento at the AAA home of the Giants affiliate, they will be putting a competitive team on the field.

Earlier this winter, the A’s signed Luis Severino to a three-year $67 million contract, the largest in franchise history.

Not only is it the free agent market but the A’s tapped into the trade market this winter acquiring Jeffrey Springs from the Rays to pair with Severino and create a strong 1-2 punch atop their rotation.

The moves haven’t exactly surprised A’s manager Mark Kotsay as they did the rest of the baseball world.

“I understood where our current payroll was and with revenue sharing, where we needed to be, so I did anticipate some spending in terms of the long-term nature of the spending. That doesn’t shock me,” Kotsay said.

When you begin to pair the A’s newfound aggressiveness with the core that they already have put in place, you begin to see the outlines of a competitive ballclub.

Just past midnight on Monday night, the A’s put forth a move that would help keep the core intact.

The Athletics and all-star slugger Brent Rooker agreed to a five-year $60 million dollar deal to keep the 30-year-old in town for when the club moves to Las Vegas in 2028.

Rooker isn’t the only A who will soon need an extension. At some point, the Athletics will have to extend Lawrence Butler and Mason Miller.

Butler will be a strong candidate to have a 30/30 season after finishing scorching hot at the end of last season.

Miller on the other hand established himself as one of the best closers in all of baseball during the A’s final season in Oakland.

The time is now for the A’s and Kotsay and the team fully understand that they are ready to start winning games.

“I do think that with this move, ownership is understanding where we need to be in 2028, what we want to accomplish when we move into that new ballpark. My hope is we accomplish that prior to moving into the new ballpark, which is to win and get into the postseason and really start producing some championship type of seasons.”