A's to Escape Disaster of Their Own Creation

The FanGraphs Newsletter, April 21, 2023 [READ IN BROWSER]( April 21, 2023 On Wednesday, the Oakland Athletics revealed that they’ve taken a concrete step toward building a ballpark in Las Vegas. Well, not “concrete” in the literal sense, but the A’s have “signed a binding agreement to purchase” a place to put concrete, a 49-acre plot near Allegiant Stadium (home of the NFL’s Raiders) and the Las Vegas Strip. Pending approval of a “public-private partnership,” A’s president Dave Kaval [told the San Francisco Chronicle]( a stadium could be completed in time for Opening Day 2027. There are still plenty of components to be juggled, but this is the biggest indication yet that the years-long effort to find a new home for the A’s in California is doomed to fail. Should the A’s relocate, they’ll become the first team to do so since the Montreal Expos moved to Washington in 2005, and the first team in the AL-NL era to move three times. [A's to Escape Disaster of Their Own Creation, by Michael Baumann]( [Mookie Betts Is a Shortstop]( Sure, you've heard of super-utility players. But how about a superstar utility player? | by Leo Morgenstern [Pablo López Added a Sweeper (If That's What You Care To Call It)]( Traded from the Marlins to the Twins last winter, López is thriving with a new pitch he learned in spring training. | by David Laurila [Five Things I Liked (Or Didn't Like) This Week, April 21]( Little league plays gone wrong. Catchers' interference gone wild. Mean-spirited bunts. There's a lot to like in baseball this week, and a lot to set you to grinding your teeth. | by Ben Clemens [José Abreu's Texas-Sized Power Outage]( Abreu is historically a slow starter, but there are significant areas of concern in his early-season stats. | by Dan Szymborski [Hunter Greene Locks Himself Into the Reds’ Rebuilding Effort]( The fireballing young righty has signed the first long-term deal since the team's ugly teardown. | by Jay Jaffe [With Vintage Form, Clayton Kershaw Joins the 200-Win Club]( The 35-year-old lefty had plenty to celebrate after once again dominating the Mets. | by Jay Jaffe [MLB: Surviving and Thriving]( In marketing itself, MLB must not only market more, but market more effectively. | by Kiri Oler 🎧 [EFFECTIVELY WILD EPISODE 1996: Sticky-Sniffing Dogs]( [DOWNLOAD THE FANGRAPHS APP]( [FanGraphs & Effectively Wild Merch Is Now Available at BreakingT!]( [ORDER HERE]( [The Las Vegas A's? The latest on potential move from Oakland]( by Jeff Passan, ESPN [Playing Time Changes: Everything You Need to Know]( by Dave Swan, Pitcher List [Liam Hendriks’ recovery from cancer is wonderful. What’s next might be incredible]( by James Fegan, The Athletic ($) [The amazing tale of the 39-year-old rookie]( by Michael Clair, MLB [@fangraphs]( [FanGraphs]( [FanGraphs]( [RSS]( [FORWARD]( [SUBSCRIBE]( Copyright © 2023 FanGraphs Inc, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you subscribed to the FanGraphs Newsletter. Our mailing address is: FanGraphs Inc 1200 N Hartford St. Apt 312Arlington, Va 22201 [Add us to your address book]( Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](