John Fisher is ruining the A’s trade deadline plans, too

The Oakland Athletics are in a bit of a tough spot. I don't just mean as a baseball team either. As a team, they are very obviously struggling. The future for the franchise is really, really dim, but they do have a few shining stars this season.

The biggest stars on this team are their designated hitter Brent Rooker and their closer Mason Miller. Funny enough, these are the two names that have generated all the interest from other teams before the trade deadline. These are the two names that all the other contending teams are calling about and trying to pull away from the Athletics.

And yeah, it absolutely makes sense from a rebuilding standpoint to trade these two pieces. But the Athletics owner may be taking a bit of a different stand with the team actively going through relocation.

(For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, and join the discord to get the inside scoop as we near the July 30 MLB trade deadline.)

Athletics relocation plans could ruin their 2024 trade deadline plans

Let's look at this rebuild through two separate lenses. Through the lens of the Oakland Athletics baseball team and what would be smart for the baseball team and its' roster. And through the lens of a team that's rebuilding and moving to Sacramento and then to Las Vegas.

First, through the eyes of a regular owner. Trading Rooker and Miller makes perfect sense. They have more value right now than they ever will. The Athletics farm system is incredibly rich and moving these two players would likely add three or four more top 100 prospects to a farm system that only has one top 100 prospect. It would completely boost their farm system to another level. But they would suck and the fans would see that the ownership doesn't care about putting a team together to win right now or in 2025 or 2026. But this idea is best for the future of the team.

And then there's the perspective of a team that's moving to Sacramento and then Las Vegas. When you're moving to new places and trying to sell tickets to fans of a relocated team, you need stars. Not young prospects that may or may not be here in a few seasons. You need players like Mason Miller and Brent Rooker that can sell tickets and put butts in seats.

Relocating during a rebuild is a bit of a tricky line of work. It's put the owner and front office of the A's in quite the tricky predicament.