The Athletics are out of Oakland and playing their first season in Sacramento. They celebrated by making a big offseason splash with new ace pitcher Luis Severino. After playing an important role in the New York Mets’ run to the NLCS, Severino is joining an Athletics team looking to make the playoffs for the first time since 2020. He told USA Today’s Bob Nightengale that the playoffs are not far away in Sacramento.
“Nobody’s expecting us to come out and make the playoffs,” Severino said. ”I think a lot [of] people think that we are far away from making the playoffs. That’s not true. We have a good team here. We’re here to win. We have a lot of young guys, a lot of talent.”
Last year, the Athletics won 69 games and finished 17 games behind the Detroit Tigers for the final Wild Card spot. Even with some great seasons from Brent Rooker and Lawrence Butler, they fell woefully short of the playoffs. Severino fills their biggest need, a bona fide ace pitcher.
If they do make the playoffs, the Athletics should get great pitching from Severino. He posted a 3.24 ERA in three starts last year, the best playoff run of his career.
The Athletics need to improve drastically to make the playoffs
Last year, the American League was significantly weaker than the National League. That remains true at the top end, with the Dodgers getting better and the Mets adding Juan Soto, but many mid-level AL teams did improve. The Red Sox, Rangers, and Tigers should all be better than they were last year. That is bad news for the Athletics, who still have to slay the Astros’ beast in their division.
The biggest need for the Athletics this year is a better pitching staff, which they have the foundation of with Severino. But they also could use another solid hitter, which they did not add. Third baseman Gio Urshela is not the piece that will put them over the edge. Hoping for more than a 111 OPS+ from catcher Shea Langeliers is risky and the rest of their infield is shaky.
The Athletics will have electric closer Mason Miller ready to go for Opening Day. He took the league by storm in the first half of the season and should continue to grow. Rooker signed an extension as well, giving the team a core to build around. If they make the playoffs, you can say Luis Severino had it first.
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