The torch was passed from Willie Mays to the Hall of Fame baseball player of choice. My choice was Rickey Henderson. Nobody carried it for a shorter period than Rickey. On Saturday, six weeks and one day after he left this earth, Rickey was celebrated by family, friends and fans, some flying from various corners of America and others driving from all areas of California and perhaps beyond.

The torch was passed from Willie Mays to the Hall of Fame baseball player of choice. My choice was Rickey Henderson. Nobody carried it for a shorter period than Rickey. On Saturday, six weeks and one day after he left this earth, Rickey was celebrated by family, friends and fans, some flying from various corners of America and others driving from all areas of California and perhaps beyond.

The torch was passed from Willie Mays to the Hall of Fame baseball player of choice. My choice was Rickey Henderson. Nobody carried it for a shorter period than Rickey. On Saturday, six weeks and one day after he left this earth, Rickey was celebrated by family, friends and fans, some flying from various corners of America and others driving from all areas of California and perhaps beyond.

From 1983-97, Sandy Alderson was the GM of the Oakland Athletics, and as the legend goes, he once listed one of his hobbies as trading Rickey Henderson. This was obviously meant as a joke, since he was responsible for sending the legend away from Oakland both in 1984, when he went to the New York Yankees, and then again in 1993, when he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays. Alderson may be more broadly known for his work with the New York Mets or with Major League Baseball itself, but for the fans in Oakland, he was the guy that traded Rickey--twice.

Rickey Henderson, before his passing and for far too short of a time, was the greatest living ballplayer, Monte Poole writes.

Something was amiss Saturday afternoon at the celebration of life ceremony for A's legend Rickey Henderson at the Oakland Arena. Erin States Hoy, once a 5-year-old girl from Tracy who forged a touching, decades-long friendship with one of baseball's all-time greats that drew national attention, is now a 40-year-old mom in a San Diego suburb with a husband and four kids, ages 7 to 17, and all the obligations that come with that. “I thought a lot about it … but I couldn't make it to Oakland,” Hoy said while fighting back tears during a phone conversation. With that, she began crying again before composing herself enough for a short laugh to say, “I've been crying over Rickey since I was 9 years old so this isn't anything new.”

The life of Rickey Henderson was saluted Saturday at the Oakland Arena. Mostly, it was Oakland through and through. Henderson died on Dec. 20 at age 65 after complications from pneumonia, leaving behind a legacy as one of the greatest ballplayers of all-time who captured the collective heart and spirit of his home town with a style all his own. There were fans in A's gear as well as those wearing their Sunday best.

The Athletics will have a new backup catcher for the 2025 season, with the club announcing that they have acquired catcher Jhonny Pereda from the Miami Marlins in exchange for cash. To make room on the 40-man roster, the A's designated Kyle McCann for assignment. Pereda made his Major League debut with Miami last year and hit .231 with four RBI in 20 games over four stints with the Marlins.

Former Detroit Tigers right-hander Elvis Alvarado was claimed off waivers by the Oakland Athletics on Thursday. Alvarado had been designated for assignment by the Pittsburgh Pirates only six weeks after signing a surprising big-league contract. The Pirates likely hoped that the higher-than-average salary commitment might discourage teams from claiming him, but the A's opted to pull the trigger. Alvarado, who turns 26 in February, is a two-time minor-league free agent who has never pitched at the big-league level, which is why it was notable that he landed a Major League deal rather than a minor-league contract.

Tony La Russa cut right to it about Rickey Henderson, calling him “the most beloved teammate we ever had.” La Russa said so Saturday night while sharing a stage with Dave Stewart, Dennis Eckersley and Jose Canseco, all of whom beamed with pride as their former skipper shared tales of the A's “great personalities” from 35 years ago. More tributes about Henderson will flow Saturday at 1 p.m., when a public service is held in his honor at Oracle Arena, next door to the Coliseum basepaths where Henderson forged his Hall of Fame legacy as baseball's all-time leader in stolen bases (1,406) and runs scored (2,295).

In just a couple of weeks, the Boston Red Sox will begin their camp at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers, Florida, with pitchers and catchers set to report on Feb. 12. While Boston has added to their roster this offseason, they're still making moves to give them a better shot of competing and contending in 2025 and beyond. On MLB insider Daniel Alvarez reported that the Red Sox are signing infielder Abraham Toro to a minor-league deal.

Dylan Carlson was a first-round draft pick in 2016 by the Cardinals, and he hit 18 home runs in his first full season in 2021. Since then, however, he’s only hit 16.

Buehrle pitched for Chicago for the first 12 of his 16 seasons in the majors. Known for working quickly with pinpoint control, the left-hander went 161-119 with a 3.83 ERA in 390 appearances with the White Sox, including 365 starts.

With single game tickets set to go on sale next week, the A's tweeted out a promotion schedule for the 2025 season on Friday. In the tweet, they announced three new bobbleheads for A's players Brent Rooker, Mason Miller, and Lawrence Butler. The other promotional giveaways included items like a Rickey Henderson T-shirt, an A's cooler bag, a backpack, a basketball jersey, and much more. The Lawrence Butler bobblehead is wearing a kelly green A's jersey that reads "Athletics".

The A's have a young roster overall, with the front office looking to see which players will be part of the team for the long haul, and which spots they may need to upgrade next winter. As we approach Spring Training, let's take a look at the four players the A's have currently under contract that will hit the free agent market once the 2025 season is complete, as well as the impact this will have on the payroll.

The Athletics revealed their promotional schedule for their 2025 MLB season at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento.

The Athletics have hired former World Series MVP and Athletics Hall of Famer Dave Stewart as a Special Assistant to Player Development for the 2025 season, the club announced Wednesday. In this role, Stewart will assist Director of Player Development Ed Sprague in addition to other members of the baseball operations department. Stewart made one All-Star team (1989), won three World Series championships (1981, 1989, & 1993), two ALCS MVP awards (1990 & 1993), one World Series MVP (1989), and was awarded the Roberto Clemente Humanitarian Award in 1990.

The Athletics hired franchise Hall of Famer Dave Stewart to a player development role for the 2025 MLB season.

The Kansas City Royals lucked out when trading with the Athletics at last season's deadline. In former Athletics reliever Lucas Erceg, the Royals acquired the breakout star who would become their closer for the entire stretch run. After putting up a 2.88 ERA/1.17 FIP in 23 outings in Kansas City, Erceg looks to have the inside track on locking up his closer job permanently in 2025. The A's have since moved to Sacramento for the next three seasons, and have spent the most money in franchise history for a single offseason, in large part to avoid a potential grievance from the owners that would threaten their revenue-sharing status.

The Athletics continue to represent one of the most relevant storylines of the 2024-25 offseason. After years of running some