MLB owners to vote on Oakland A's relocation this week

Major League Baseball’s owner meetings begin today, Nov. 14th. The owners are scheduled to vote on the Oakland A’s relocation to Las Vegas during the meetings this week to determine whether John Fisher can move forward with his plans to move the franchise.

It’s important to note that this is not the final step in the A’s relocating to Vegas. There are still moving parts that could change, most notably whether the Nevada voters will call a referendum on the $380 million in taxpayer funding currently allocated for the Tropicana Hotel site.

If the voters were to rescind the public funds, Rob Manfred has already noted that it would be a significant added challenge for the A’s relocation plans. John Fisher doesn't have the money to build a new stadium himself. If the Nevada voters were to pull the public money out of the deal, Fisher would need to find a new path forward.

Fisher will need 22 of 29 votes for the relocation vote to pass. Mayor Sheng Thao and the city council recently passed a resolution on their efforts to keep the A’s in Oakland. Last Dive Bar and the Oakland 68’s also put together custom boxes for several MLB owners in an effort to sway them to vote NO on relocation.

The owners meetings are generally meant for the group to discuss larger business of baseball matters, and don’t typically drive larger news stories. The A’s relocation vote will likely be the pinnacle of the event.

In addition to the owners meetings, the deadline for teams to protect eligible players from the Rule 5 draft is today at 6pm. The A’s have a number of players that may be added to the 40-man to protect them from the draft.

Most notably, C Kyle McCann, INF’s Darrel Hernaiz, Logan Davidson, Euribiel Angeles, and Robert Puason, OF’s Max Schuemann, Junior Perez, and Brayan Buelvas, and P’s Jack O’Loughlin, Royber Salinas, JT Ginn, Stevie Emanuels, and Jack Weisenburger are all eligible for the Rule 5 draft.

Some combination of these players will need to be added to the A’s 40-man or risk being selected by other teams during the draft on Dec. 6. Hernaiz, Salinas, and Ginn are all likely to be protected. Beyond that, it’s a bit of a toss up whether the A’s feel those players are worth holding on to.

The A's had a large number of prospects elect minor league free agency last week. They're going to need to utilize the Rule 5 draft, as well as the minor league portion of the draft, to fill out their minor league rosters.