Oakland Athletics postpone ballpark rendering reveal

The Oakland Athletics have reportedly postponed their ballpark rendering reveal just a day after the announcement was made.

The reasoning behind it is deeply unfortunate, as two Nevada state troopers were killed after being struck by a vehicle during a traffic stop.

According to a statement released by the team, the ballpark rendering reveal has been postponed. There has not been a new date announced at this time.

There are still a few months left in the offseason, meaning there is plenty of time for John Fisher and the A's to unveil their plans for the new park. The only response to this news should be condolences to the officer's families.

Some of the reaction online came in the form of backhanded comments about Fisher, which seems unnecessary for the situation. Though Fisher deserves the vitriol, there's a time and place for those comments and this doesn't seem appropriate.

The A's will eventually reveal their renderings, likely sooner than later, and the public will get a chance to see the team's vision for the park.

Outside of that, Ken Waldichuk reportedly underwent elbow surgery to remove scar tissue from the flexor tendon in his throwing arm.

The team has not announced an expected recovery timeframe but it's possible that his status for spring training and opening day will be in question.

Waldichuk was removed from his final start of the season in Los Angeles after feeling discomfort in the elbow. He underwent the Tenex procedure on Oct 17, and received an additional PRP injection a week later on Oct 24.

He'll look to improve on his 2023 season in which he threw 141 innings to the tune of a 5.36 ERA. He struck out nearly a batter per inning, but also walked 71 men and allowed 24 homers.

MLB's Winter Meetings begin tomorrow, Dec 3. Typically there are a flurry of moves made during this time, between free agent signings and trades.

It's unclear how active the Athletics will be at the meetings, as they aren't expected to make any significant free agent signings and they've traded most of the good players on the roster.

It's possible that either pitcher Paul Blackburn or outfielder Seth Brown get moved in the next few weeks. The A's also need to figure out what 2024 looks like for Tyler Soderstrom, after the rookie had a disappointing debut in 2023.

The meetings run from Sunday through Wednesday next week.