Oakland crafts 5-year lease extension for Athletics
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Tim Keown, ESPN Senior Writer
The city of Oakland will present Athletics ownership with an offer to extend the team’s lease that includes a five-year contract with an opt-out after three years, as well as a requirement the team pays a $97 million “extension fee,” according to document obtained by ESPN and KGO-TV in San Francisco on Saturday.
The team and the city will meet Tuesday, the third formal meeting between the two sides since the Athletics received unanimous approval from major league owners to move the franchise to Las Vegas.
The team is hoping its stadium in Las Vegas, on the site of the soon-to-be-demolished Tropicana Casino and Resort, will be completed in time to open the 2028 season. With the Coliseum lease expiring at the end of this season, that leaves at least a three-year gap the Athletics and Major League Baseball need to fill.
Commissioner Rob Manfred has expressed a desire to have the team’s interim plans completed by early summer for future scheduling purposes, but he has said only that the team’s temporary home will be “someplace in the West.” The A’s have been in negotiations with Sacramento and Salt Lake City in addition to Oakland, and the idea of a three-year stint in Sacramento — allowing the team to keep a larger percentage of its reported $67 million in yearly local television revenue than it would in Salt Lake City — has gained traction in recent weeks.
The city is proposing the five-year lease with the opt-out after three to safeguard itself in case there are construction delays in Las Vegas or the deal falls through. According to the offer sheet obtained by ESPN and KGO-TV, the city has dropped previous requirements that called for MLB to keep the A’s name and colors in Oakland, as well as a demand that MLB guarantee the city a future expansion team.
“We are very interested in doing business, and in having the A’s stay in Oakland,” said Leigh Hanson, the city’s chief of staff. “Part of that is helping them solve this interim location challenge and just being clear in what we expect in return.”
The $97 million extension fee, a number Hanson terms nonnegotiable and will be owed by the team even if it opts out after three seasons, figures to be the biggest point of contention in the upcoming negotiations. Sources indicate the A’s, who currently pay just $1.5 million in rent to play in the Coliseum, offered a two-year deal and payments of $7 million and $10 million over the course of the lease, contending they have options after two seasons.
The $97 million — the shortfall the city says Fisher walked away from on the multibillion-dollar Howard Terminal project — is what Hanson said the city needs from the A’s to help the Oakland’s $170 million general fund deficit. She indicated the city will earmark those funds to cover public safety expenses.
The city is also asking the team to assume the costs of switching over the Coliseum playing field for the Oakland Roots SC, which plays in the United Soccer League.
The city is also asking the Athletics to sell the 50% share of its ownership in the Coliseum complex — an agreement that has been agreed to but not finalized — to a local developer to allow the city to move forward with redevelopment of the site. Both of those conditions were covered during previous negotiations and are not expected to be contentious.
“I remain committed to doing everything in my power to keep the A’s in Oakland,” Oakland mayor Sheng Thao said in a statement to ESPN. “The terms we have proposed for a lease extension at the Coliseum are clear, reasonable and achievable. Having Major League Baseball in Oakland is what is best for the owners, the league, the players and most importantly, the fans.”
In addition, the city is asking for a commitment from Major League Baseball on one of three options: (1) a one-year exclusive right to solicit ownership of a future expansion team; (2) vote to leave the A’s colors and name in Oakland, or; (3) facilitate the sale of the A’s to a local ownership group.
Oakland’s appeal to owner John Fisher and the A’s includes the $67 million annual local television revenue and the convenience of not having to uproot the team and its employees to play in a minor-league stadium in either Sacramento or Salt Lake City, two cities attempting to position themselves as viable options for MLB expansion. West Sacramento is the home of the RiverCats — the Giants‘ Triple-A affiliate owned by Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, who is a friend of Fisher’s.
“The city is putting forward a very reasonable deal,” Hanson said. “We don’t think there’s a poison pill in this deal. We feel this is an accomplishable goal, and we are going forward understanding we have a short window to execute.”
The A’s have drawn just 22,784 fans combined in their first three games of the season, their 56th in Oakland, and have dropped each game to the Guardians. The team has a run differential of minus-19 after those three games after losing 112 games last season. Thursday’s Opening Day game featured a parking lot protest staged by two local fan groups and attended by thousands who refused to buy tickets but remained in the parking lot to watch the contest on a projection screen.
The 2025 MLB All-Star Home Run Derby is fast approaching — and the field is set.
Braves hometown hero Ronald Acuna Jr. became the first player to commit to the event, which will be held at Truist Park in Atlanta on July 14 (8 p.m. ET on ESPN). He was followed by MLB home run leader Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners, James Wood of the Washington Nationals, Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins, Oneil Cruz of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays, Brent Rooker of the Athletics and Jazz Chisholm Jr. of the New York Yankees.
On Friday, however, Acuna was replaced by teammate Matt Olson.
With all the entrants announced, let’s break down their chances at taking home this year’s Derby prize.
Full All-Star Game coverage: How to watch, schedule, rosters, more
2025 home runs: 17 | Longest: 434 feet
Why he could win: Olson is a late replacement for Acuna as the home team’s representative at this year’s Derby. Apart from being the Braves’ first baseman, however, Olson also was born in Atlanta and grew up a Braves fan, giving him some extra motivation. The left-handed slugger led the majors in home runs in 2023 — his 54 round-trippers that season also set a franchise record — and he remains among the best in the game when it comes to exit velo and hard-hit rate.
Why he might not: The home-field advantage can also be a detriment if a player gets too hyped up in the first round. See Julio Rodriguez in Seattle in 2023, when he had a monster first round, with 41 home runs, but then tired out in the second round.
2025 home runs: 36 | Longest: 440 feet
Why he could win: It’s the season of Cal! The Mariners’ catcher is having one of the greatest slugging first halves in MLB history, as he’s been crushing mistakes all season . His easy raw power might be tailor-made for the Derby — he ranks in the 87th percentile in average exit velocity and delivers the ball, on average, at the optimal home run launch angle of 23 degrees. His calm demeanor might also be perfect for the contest as he won’t get too amped up.
Why he might not: He’s a catcher — and one who has carried a heavy workload, playing in all but one game this season. This contest is as much about stamina as anything, and whether Raleigh can carry his power through three rounds would be a concern. No catcher has ever won the Derby, with only Ivan Rodriguez back in 2005 even reaching the finals.
2025 home runs: 24 | Longest: 451 feet
Why he could win: He’s big, he’s strong, he’s young, he’s awesome, he might or might not be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. This is the perfect opportunity for Wood to show his talent on the national stage, and he wouldn’t be the first young player to star in the Derby. He ranks in the 97th percentile in average exit velocity and 99th percentile in hard-hit rate, so he can still muscle the ball out in BP even if he slightly mishits it. His long arms might be viewed as a detriment, but remember the similarly tall Aaron Judge won in 2017.
Why he might not: His natural swing isn’t a pure uppercut — he has a pretty low average launch angle of just 6.2 degrees — so we’ll see how that plays in a rapid-fire session. In real games, his power is primarily to the opposite field, but in a Home Run Derby you can get more cheapies pulling the ball down the line.
2025 home runs: 20 | Longest: 479 feet
Why he could win: Buxton’s raw power remains as impressive as nearly any hitter in the game. He crushed a 479-foot home run earlier this season and has four others of at least 425 feet. Indeed, his “no doubter” percentage — home runs that would be out of all 30 parks based on distance — is 75%, the highest in the majors among players with more than a dozen home runs. His bat speed ranks in the 89th percentile. In other words, two tools that could translate to a BP lightning show.
Why he might not: Buxton is 31 and the Home Run Derby feels a little more like a younger man’s competition. Teoscar Hernandez did win last year at age 31, but before that, the last winner older than 29 was David Ortiz in 2010, and that was under much different rules than are used now.
2025 home runs: 16 | Longest: 463 feet
Why he could win: If you drew up a short list of players everyone wants to see in the Home Run Derby, Cruz would be near the top. He has the hardest-hit ball of the 2025 season, and the hardest ever tracked by Statcast, a 432-foot missile of a home run with an exit velocity of 122.9 mph. He also crushed a 463-foot home run in Anaheim that soared way beyond the trees in center field. With his elite bat speed — 100th percentile — Cruz has the ability to awe the crowd with a potentially all-time performance.
Why he might not: Like all first-time contestants, can he stay within himself and not get too caught up in the moment? He has a long swing, which will result in some huge blasts, but might not be the most efficient for a contest like this one, where the more swings a hitter can get in before the clock expires, the better.
2025 home runs: 23 | Longest: 425 feet
Why he could win: Although Caminero was one of the most hyped prospects entering 2024, everyone kind of forgot about him heading into this season since he didn’t immediately rip apart the majors as a rookie. In his first full season, however, he has showed off his big-time raw power — giving him a chance to become just the third player to reach 40 home runs in his age-21 season. He has perhaps the quickest bat in the majors, ranking in the 100th percentile in bat speed, and his top exit velocity ranks in the top 15. That could translate to a barrage of home runs.
Why he might not: In game action, Caminero does hit the ball on the ground quite often — in fact, he’s on pace to break Jim Rice’s record for double plays grounded into in a season. If he gets out of rhythm, that could lead to a lot of low line drives during the Derby instead of fly balls that clear the fences.
2025 home runs: 19 | Longest: 440 feet
Why he could win: The Athletics slugger has been one of the top power hitters in the majors for three seasons now and is on his way to a third straight 30-homer season. Rooker has plus bat speed and raw power, but his biggest strength is an optimal average launch angle (19 degrees in 2024, 15 degrees this season) that translates to home runs in game action. That natural swing could be picture perfect for the Home Run Derby. He also wasn’t shy about saying he wanted to participate — and maybe that bodes well for his chances.
Why he might not: Rooker might not have quite the same raw power as some of the other competitors, as he has just one home run longer than 425 feet in 2025. But that’s a little nitpicky, as 11 of his home runs have still gone 400-plus feet. He competed in the college home run derby in Omaha while at Mississippi State in 2016 and finished fourth.
2025 home runs: 17 | Longest: 442 feet
Why he could win: Chisholm might not be the most obvious name to participate, given his career high of 24 home runs, but he has belted 17 already in 2025 in his first 61 games after missing some time with an injury. He ranks among the MLB leaders in a couple of home run-related categories, ranking in the 96th percentile in expected slugging percentage and 98th percentile in barrel rate. His raw power might not match that of the other participants, but he’s a dead-pull hitter who has increased his launch angle this season, which might translate well to the Derby, even if he won’t be the guy hitting the longest home runs.
Why he might not: Most of the guys who have won this have been big, powerful sluggers. Chisholm is listed at 5-foot-11, 184 pounds, and you have to go back to Miguel Tejada in 2004 to find the last player under 6 foot to win.
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