This story was excerpted from Martín Gallegos’ Athletics Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
WEST SACRAMENTO -- Ahead of their second year playing in their temporary home of Sutter Health Park, the Athletics spent some time generating excitement for the new season by partaking in several events throughout the area.
Brent Rooker, Nick Kurtz, Jacob Wilson and Tyler Soderstrom made their way around the Sacramento region over this past weekend. The events began on Saturday, when each player mingled with fans at a special season-ticket holder event at Red Hawk Casino. On Sunday, they surprised fans with a visit to the ice rink in downtown Sacramento. The community outreach was capped on Monday, with players and team officials volunteering to collect trash around Sacramento.
“It’s one thing we’ve all been kind of universally impressed with since we got here last year,” Rooker said. “How much we’ve been embraced by the community here. Even with their knowledge that it’s temporary that we’re here before moving on, the way that they’ve embraced us as a city and as fans and as people, the way they’ve treated us and our families has been incredibly special. We’re super appreciative and looking forward to spending the next two years here.”
After Sunday’s ice rink visit, all four A’s were invited later that night to sit courtside at Golden 1 Center for a matchup between the Sacramento Kings and Portland Trailblazers. During the game, the players were introduced at center court and later took part in a meet-and-greet with Kings season-ticket members.
Throughout each event, Rooker noted the genuine enthusiasm from fans in anticipation of what the A’s believe will be a big step forward for themselves as a club in 2026, a year in which they expect to contend for a playoff spot and perhaps even challenge for the division.
“The passion is obviously there and the excitement for the upcoming season,” Rooker said. “Everybody kind of recognizes what we have building here and the potential that we have. The city and the community as a whole is very excited.”
For Rooker and the rest of his teammates, there is a sense of comfort in having a bit more familiarity with their new home area. As opposed to last year, when there was a feeling of unknown for players on and off the field as they adjusted to a new ballpark and surroundings, the A’s know what they are walking into and have embraced it.
“It makes the day-to-day routine much easier to get into,” Rooker said. “Obviously, such a huge part of our lives during the season is, not monotony, but we do the same thing pretty much every day. Knowing exactly what that looks like when we’re first here in April instead of having to kind of figure out what it looks like into May like we did last year makes that transition into the season smoother.”
Being comfortable from day one will be important for the A’s as they look to improve upon their 76-86 record from last season. To reach that next level, they’ll lean on a strong offensive core that was bolstered even further this offseason with the addition of Jeff McNeil. On the pitching side, the A’s signed veteran reliever Mark Leiter Jr. to help in the late innings, and general manager David Forst has indicated that the club is looking to add another starting pitcher before the start of the season.
“Our expectations are, first and foremost, to improve what we did last year,” Rooker said. “We think guys are going to get better naturally just from experience. We also think guys are going to get better because we have a high-character group that goes out there and works to improve every day. … From there, we think we can compete for a division and a playoff spot. We have every belief that we can go out there and do that.”