The Oakland A’s simply do not spend money on payroll. They hammered that point home this offseason and during spring training, jettisoning their stars as they sought to fall below $50 million in salary obligations for the 2022 season. According to team president Dave Kaval, that is simply how things are, a part of the cycle of the A’s and nothing will change it.
That is, nothing except a new ballpark. Kaval has said that the A’s would start spending money once they had the revenue that a new ballpark would bring in, but the fact that ownership is already worth billions and pockets revenue sharing checks makes that thought preposterous at best.
Dave Kaval has delusions of Oakland A’s spending
His thought became even more laughable recently. He stated that the A’s would absolutely, “100%” be in the top ten in the majors in payroll. As the A’s currently rank dead last, such a concept is easy to laugh at.
That is even more hilarious when one looks at the A’s payroll history. The A’s have not ranked outside the bottom third of the league since 2007, when their approximately $79 million payroll was 17th in the majors. This is also a team that has not spent more than $93 million on a single season’s payroll in franchise history. Even that mark would rank just 22nd this year, behind the Reds, who also imploded their roster to save a few bucks.
Maybe the A’s will spend to “justify” whatever city they are in spending money on a new ballpark. And maybe they will actually spend to keep, and supplement, their future core. But to reach the top ten in the majors in payroll, the A’s would have needed to spend over $168 million this year. That is more than two years worth of teams in Oakland.
Dave Kaval says the Oakland A’s will be in the top ten in payroll with a new stadium. Unless the ghosts of baseball past come calling, that will never happen.