This article is part of our Hot Stove Takes series, where staffers provide quick reactions to the latest notable MLB transactions.

Stephanie Apstein: At first glance, that seems like a lot of money! Incredibly, Luis Severino’s three-year, $67 million contract represents the largest contract in franchise history, narrowly surpassing the six-year, $66 million extension Eric Chavez signed in 2004 and doubling the previous high for a free Agent, Billy Butler’s three-year term, more than $30 million starting in ’15. It far exceeds the three-year, $51 million of MLB Trade Rumors, which tend to be good in such things, Severino predicted.

But if you look closely, you can see the logic. The Oakland A’s believe their core of young position players, led by catcher Shea Langeliers and right fielder Lawrence Butler, are coming into form. The AL West will likely be softer than ever as the Houston Astros will almost certainly lose star third baseman Alex Bregman. You have to squint to see it, but there is a window.

And if you ask a major league player to play in a minor league stadium, you’re overpaying. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I thank owner John Fisher for spending some money here to try and improve his squad.

VERDUCCI: The signing of Luis Severino reflects the sudden pressure surrounding the A’s

Emma Baccellieri: First, Severino was clearly right when he declined the New York Mets’ qualifying offer. He ended up getting a contract here that exceeded almost all mainstream predictions. Second: The… ones? The supposedly soon-to-be Las Vegas A’s, formerly in Oakland and currently in Sacramento? Those ones? This is the largest guaranteed contract in franchise history. (It beats only a four-year, $66 million contract extension with Chavez in 2004. Yes, that’s right, it’s been two decades since the club spent that much money.)

Last season there was only one player on the senior squad who earned more than $3 million. (That was Ross Stripling, acquired in a trade with the San Francisco Giants, and even he didn’t make more than $10 million.) Severino’s deal has an average annual value of just over $22 million. That’s how drastic this commitment is for the A’s.

This meets a clear need. The A’s could desperately use competent starting pitching, and they should get that from the soon-to-be 31-year-old Severino, who is coming off a solid rebound campaign. (This was his first 110-plus innings season since 2018.) At the very least, Severino can provide stability and a veteran presence on a club that offers very little of either.

But the A’s have a lot of needs to fill – and have for years! – and suddenly paying so much for this particular problem is puzzling. And that’s putting it lightly.

Laws of will: Severino’s contract makes the A’s MLB’s third-highest spending team this offseason, behind the Los Angeles Dodgers and…the Los Angeles Angels? It looks like the AL West’s bottom teams are preparing to return to respectability given the disappointing campaigns of the three teams above them, as 88 wins were enough to win the division this year.

What’s more cynical is that Fisher had to show this too some It’s a sign of advancement for key stakeholders in Las Vegas, where groundbreaking has yet to take place on the team’s planned stadium on the Strip. In related news, a major hurdle was cleared Thursday to allow progress on that front.

It’s encouraging that Fisher appears willing to spend more money to improve what has been an embarrassing product on the field over the last three seasons. But it must also feel like a slap in the face to the team’s Oakland fan base that he was only willing to do this after literally leaving them looking for dirt.