The Oakland A’s made a large overpayment on Thursday to sign free-agent pitcher Luis Severino (three years, $67 million, with an opt-out after two years; loss of third draft pick). That’s the only way they can sign a free agent to play in a minor league in the sweltering heat of the West Sacramento summer for the next three or four years. It only makes sense if there is more to come.

Owner John Fisher has cut payroll to 29th, 30th and 30th in the MLB over the past three seasons while planning to move the team to Las Vegas. With plans in place, Fisher will need to consolidate the $1 billion or so he’s pouring into the stadium by investing in the product. He needs to build momentum to get Las Vegas officials, sponsors and potential fans behind the team.

The A’s could be on the upswing. They were 39-37 in the final 76 games this season. Calls from other teams regarding Mason Miller, Brent Rooker and Lawrence Butler are moot. The payroll could nearly double from an embarrassingly low $61 million.

The A’s paid Severino more AAV ($22.3 million) than recent deals for Michael Wacha ($17 million), Marcus Stroman ($18.5 million), Eduardo Rodriguez ($20 million). ), Chris Bassitt ($21 million) and Kevin Gausman ($22 million). Jugs with new durability. In 2021-23, Severino, who turns 31 in February, made just 37 starts and was 12-11 with a 4.65 ERA.

But he put together a solid bounceback season with the Mets this year, leaning on his revamped sweeper, a new sinker and better fitness. When the Mets signed Severino, they put him in touch with nutritionists and high-performance trainers who discovered, among other things, that he was spending too much time on machines late at night, depriving himself of proper rest and recovery. Severino also dedicated himself to better training habits. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said Severino was rarely seen in the training room when both were with the Yankees but has been a constant presence there this year.

Like Gausman, Bassitt, Tyler Anderson, Nathan Eovaldi, Seth Lugo and Sean Manaea, Severino is a solid rotation addition who could be poised to enter a second phase of his career. Next up: The market just got better for Eovaldi, Manaea and Jack Flaherty, the pitchers also starting in the sub-ace category.