The Oakland Athletics are on a historic losing pace in 2023. The franchise is in the midst of a complete rebuild and a move to Las Vegas seems likely to happen in the near-future. However, MLB insider Ken Rosenthal believes Rob Manfred and MLB have been too accommodating to the Athletics and team owner John Fisher, per Foul Territory.

“Why is John Fisher getting this free pass from Major League Baseball? Why is no one questioning everything going on with this team, starting with what's going on on the field? If I'm an owner of another club, that team is an embarrassment to my industry,” Rosenthal said. “That is a blight on what we've got going on here, which in this situation, in this season, is a lot of positive things.”

Rosenthal also brought up the topic of whether or not Las Vegas is the best location for an MLB franchise.

“This question was raised in an article in the Athletic… who's to say Las Vegas is this unbelievable market for baseball? I know football's there and I know hockey's there, baseball's different. Is Las Vegas going to be able to support a Major League Baseball team 81 nights a year? I know tourists will come in, but are they coming in for baseball? In the middle of summer? That remains to be seen.”

In the end, Rosenthal wants to know why the Athletics are seemingly getting a “free pass.” Oakland, in a sense, is getting bailed out by relocation. In fact, relocation may be part of the reason Oakland entered this complete rebuild in the first place. Rosenthal doesn't directly say anything along those lines, but the possibility is difficult to ignore.

The Athletics aren't playing well and change appears to be inevitable, but perhaps Rosenthal has a point.