‘There’s still a chance for a deal’: Former MLB team president says it’s not over for A’s in Oakland

(KRON) — All signs seem to suggest the A’s are moving to Las Vegas. Following Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo’s sign-off, the deal is now up to a final vote by MLB. However, some sports insiders aren’t convinced it’s the end of the road for the A’s in Oakland.

KRON4 sat down with Former Miami Marlins President David Samson. Watch the full interview in the video player above or read the full Q&A below.

Q: You are no stranger to negotiations of this kind. You worked for years to find a ballpark for the Marlins. Do you think the A’s will end up leaving Oakland or is this part of a bigger plan?

Samson: I don’t want anyone to give up hope. I don’t think it’s absolute the A’s are going to Vegas. There’s so much work to be done for MLB to even get to a vote on relocation. I’m hoping right now we are at the edge, and that’s when deals actually happen. Right when you’re at the edge of something really bad happening, the parties get back to the table. That’s what has to happen. The A’s, MLB, and Oakland have to get back to the table to start talking again, and I’m hoping someone picks up the phone first.

Q: As a former baseball executive, how would you advise President John Fisher and the A’s? As of today, we haven’t heard him provide any thoughts or feedback to the fans.

Samson: That’s not all uncommon. It took me 10 years to get a ballpark done in Miami, our owner did not like speaking to the media, and I was the one who was the public face of the franchise. What I think is important and what we didn’t get from the commissioner from the owner’s meetings, there has to be a level of empathy towards the fans from Oakland.

Even if secretly you’re upset they don’t buy seasons tickets or they don’t come to games, even if you’re upset you’re in the position this stadium issue has existed in Oakland, you’ve got to show, a modicum of empathy, and if john Fisher, he doesn’t want to speak to the media, his actions can speak. Right now, his actions are saying Vegas and, I hope there will be work done behind the scenes because the deal in Vegas, it’s not a great deal for baseball or the Oakland A’s because while they got some public financing, there is a lot of private money going in, and there’s no development where the team can make any ancillary revenue. So I don’t love the deal in Vegas at all.

Q: Why do you think the MLB commissioner is pushing so hard for a Vegas deal? Some would argue an expansion team makes more financial sense for MLB.

Samson: It certainly would. (Philadelphia Phillies superstar and Las Vegas native) Bryce Harper actually went public just the other day saying he wishes there would be expansion in Vegas, and guess what, the other owners agree. Because having Vegas as an available expansion city, you get an expansion fee, which all the owners split, and be able to pay down debt or get a new player or put in their pockets, whatever they want to do. There’s no relocation fee, so you’re taking away a city, Vegas, that would have been a possible expansion city, and you’re taking it off the board. Baseball doesn’t really want to do that. That’s why deep down I think it’s still possible, deep down, there is still a chance for a deal in Oakland.

Q: The A’s and the Tampa Bay Rays appear to be in a similar situation when it comes to finding a new location and stadium, but the commissioner doesn’t seem to be saying much about what’s happening there. Any idea why?

Samson: it will be, one at a time, baseball can’t do too many things at once. But I remind you of a team in your area. The San Francisco Giants were a minute and half before moving to Tampa Bay, before there was expansion in Tampa Bay, and a deal ended up happening and a new ballpark was built in san francisco. The rest is history. So there is actually a roadmap for this.

The commissioner is not pushing Vegas; he was pushing for public financing. He wanted that vote to go through because if that vote had not happened in Vegas, how would they even put an expansion team there without the public money? That public money that exists in the Nevada now, there is a chance for it to be used not just for the a’s, but for a different team, like an expansion team.

Q: Any thoughts on how commissioner rob manfred is handling this? He basically told Oakland A’s fans yesterday “He’s sorry” but the city never offered a plan to build a stadium — despite a lot of evidence suggesting the opposite.

Samson: I spent about 30 minutes of my show “Nothing Personal” going over this. I’ll just sum it up in 30 seconds, which is, you’ve got to be very careful if you’re the commissioner with what you’re going to say because now it’s a battle of statements. The mayor’s office put out a statement saying that’s categorically false, there was an offer, there’s been great progress. Why are they spending time publicly arguing about whether there was an offer, whether there was progress when they could be spending time figuring out how to get the deal done in Oakland? I think that’s time better spent. So when you’re speaking to the media, whether you’re the commissioner or part of the A’s or anybody, just be careful making statements that are blanket statements, that can be very easily refuted.