A's reward manager Mark Kotsay with extension through 2028

The Athletics signed manager Mark Kotsay to a contract extension through the 2028 season with a team option for 2029.

Financial terms for the deal, announced Monday, were not disclosed.

That's our Skipper!

We have signed Mark Kotsay to a contract extension through the 2028 season with a club option for 2029. pic.twitter.com/XSit06GIYt

— Athletics (@Athletics) February 17, 2025

Kotsay, 49, has a 179-307 record in three seasons at the helm of the A's, but there is more to his time as manager than his record. Kotsay, who played four of his 17 big league seasons for the A's, has shepherded them through stormy weather, watching top talent traded away in a salary dump and leading the players through an emotional final season in Oakland as ownership decided to pull up stakes and move to Las Vegas.

The Athletics will play this season in a minor-league ballpark in Sacramento as they await construction of their new stadium on the Strip in Las Vegas, planned for 2028.

The A's finished 69-93 in 2024, in fourth place in the American League West. The posted a 39-37 mark over the final 76 games.

And there is hope for 2025. After years of sending established players out of town, the A's signed two-time All-Star pitcher Luis Severino and infielder Gio Urshela and traded for left-hander Jeffrey Springs this offseason as the rebuild begins.

"In '22, my first experience managing was to tell Matt Olson he had been traded, which was the direction of the ballclub," Kotsay recalled at an informal gathering with reporters in Sacramento last month. "Now, season four is to welcome Luis Severino, who has been given the largest free agent contract in [franchise] history, which is completely opposite. So I couldn't be more excited about going into camp."

The A's open the regular season March 27 on the road against the Seattle Mariners.

--Field Level Media