Shocking Luis Severino signing has John Fisher’s desperate fingerprints all over it

The Athletics, a team that has refused to do any spending whatsoever in recent memory, made what might end up being the most shocking signing of the entire offseason on Thursday, inking Luis Severino to a three-year deal worth a whopping $67 million. Severino will be the de facto ace of the team in its first year in Sacramento, and it's the largest guarantee the franchise has given out in its history.

Severino makes the team better, but since when did that franchise actually care about competing? Nothing about how they've handled the on-field product or the fan base suggested that they cared about anything other than money and getting out of Oakland as quickly as possible. Could this signal a sudden shift? Well, not exactly.

It just so happens that the day that the Severino news broke was the day that the Athletics announced that 2025 season tickets will go on sale starting December 9. Isn't that convenient?

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Luis Severino signing sure looks like a ploy to try and sell tickets

Signing Severino is a good thing, objectively. Sure, the A's might've been wiser to not sign a 30-year-old with durability concerns to an expensive three-year deal while also forfeiting a draft pick, but it's hard to complain about the A's actually doing something to make their team better. Still, this can't be a coincidence.

Fisher knows what kind of a hole he's in right now. The A's do not have a fan base in Sacramento, and Fisher hopes to move the organization to Las Vegas in due time. In order for that move to be a successful one, Fisher is going to have to build a fan base. The best way to do that is to get players worth paying to see.

Severino himself isn't going to attract many fans, but he will at least give the team a chance to win most of the time when he takes the mound. That's better than what we can say about most of the starting pitchers in that organization.

For this to ultimately work for Fisher, the A's are going to have to do a lot more. No, they won't sign Juan Soto or any of the other high-end free agents available, but adding more players in Severino's tier or even slightly below would help make the team more competitive. Winning teams are what puts butts in seats, at the end of the day.