Barring an 11th hour trade, Frankie Montas will start for the A’s on Opening Day in Philadelphia Friday.
He is the lone holdover from the vaunted Oakland quintet whose names were floated in trade rumors this offseason – as Chris Bassitt, Matt Olson, Matt Chapman and Sean Manaea were all traded. To borrow the words of 95.7 The Game’s Mark Willard, you have to ask the A’s, “What are you doing?!?”
Audacy Sports MLB Insider Jon Heyman joined 95.7 The Game's “Willard & Dibs” Thursday to preview the A’s and Giants heading into 2022. You can check out the full interview above.
As Heyman noted, the team’s current $33 million payroll is the same as it was in 1991 when the A’s, then owned by the Haas Family, led MLB in spending.
“There’s no excuse having a $40 million payroll in the Bay Area,” Heyman said. “I understand they’re having issues with the ballpark. But they make more money than that on the national TV deal. That doesn’t count all the other money they make. To me there’s no excuse for that.”
Heyman said A’s owner John Fisher might be spoiled by Billy Beane, David Forst and the A’s front office for staying successful despite constant teardowns.
“I guess the temptation for the owner is too great. ‘Oh, these guys can win even if we tear it down and spend nothing. So let’s do that.’” Heyman said. “I guess that’s what it is.”
For Heyman, the answer would be for MLB to institute a salary floor, akin to the $230 million competitive balance tax threshold which often serves as a high-water mark for teams.
“I’d say we probably need a floor and the A’s are Exhibit A in terms of why we need that floor,” Heyman said.
