We discussed this once here before: the pattern of the Oakland Athletics franchise since it moved to the East Bay Area from Kansas City in 1968. The A’s won 86 games in 2021 to miss the playoffs for the first time since 2017, and the front office systematically began to dismantle the team, resulting in a 60-win season in 2022 and a 50-win season in 2023. You should remember the latter quite well thanks to our documentation.

Well, here we are in 2024, and it looked bad in the team’s opening series at home against the Cleveland Guardians. But two weeks later, we’re seeing a whole different dynamic from the team with the lowest payroll in MLB, as the A’s have played somewhat competitive baseball through 15 games, posting a 6-9 record which includes 2 series wins in a row (against Detroit and Texas on the road, respectively). Wow!

As we write this on Sunday afternoon, Oakland is leading the Washington Nationals in the late innings, and if the club holds on (which is no sure thing, of course), that would be 3 series wins in a row. Last year, it took more than a month for the A’s to win a series. The Oakland Futility Watch perhaps won’t be necessary like it was last season: this team is young, but it has some talent, has some desire, and has some chances to win.

With the weird news that the Athletics will be playing their games in a minor-league park in Sacramento from 2025-2027 while waiting for the construction of their new ballpark in Las Vegas, it’s important for the organization to play good baseball and improve. The team wants to be competition when the new ballpark opens on the Strip; the A’s want to make the biggest splash possible with their Sin City debut in 2028.

To that end, starting to improve now is a good sign, especially with the low payroll. If the team can progress each season going forward to 2028, it will be close(r) to playoff contention when it makes its first legitimate Vegas appearance. The A’s will get the fourth pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, as well, and that player should be ready for Sin City, too, in 3 seasons. All this hopeful momentum also can result in some free-agent action.

A lot of players are going to want to play in Vegas for a winner; it’s a popular city for many reasons, and the A’s will be expected to spend some projected income by that time, too, so the payroll increases will be coming slowly but surely. So, people who aren’t paying attention to what the Oakland organization is doing should look more closely to see a few obvious things we pointed out a long time ago. It’s not hard if you try.

The A’s are going to improve, and they are going to be good when they hit the Sin City Strip in 2028. Bet on it.