On Friday the Athletics and Rays accomplished a four-for-two commerce centered round 32-year-old lefty starter Jeffrey Springs, who heads to Northern California. The A’s additionally bought lefty swingman Jacob Lopez, whereas the Rays acquired wild, hard-throwing righty Joe Boyle, two minor leaguers (first baseman Will Simpson and right-handed pitcher Jacob Watters), and the thirty sixth total decide within the 2025 draft.
Springs, who’s below contract via a minimum of 2026, had a breakout 2022 season when the Rays moved him from the bullpen to their rotation, and he amassed 3.1 WAR throughout 135 1/3 innings. He bought harm a couple of begins into 2023 and wanted Tommy John surgical procedure, which value him the remainder of 2023 and most of 2024. After he returned from a chronic, 12-start minor league rehab interval, Springs had good surface-level stats within the massive leagues – 7 GS, 33 IP, 37 Okay, 1.36 WHIP, 3.27 ERA – however confirmed diminished stuff in comparison with his pre-TJ kind. Ken Rosenthal reported that Springs was shut down in September on the recommendation of his surgeon.
Springs joins an Athletics crew flush with thrilling younger hitters however badly in want of pitching, which they’ve addressed with not solely this commerce however the current signing of hard-throwing veteran Luis Severino (evaluation right here). The commerce additionally provides payroll to the Athletics’ ledger, which they possible should proceed to broaden so as to keep away from a grievance from the MLB Gamers Affiliation.
Springs’ fastball averaged 90 mph in his 2024 massive league begins, a few tick and a half beneath the place he sat in 2022-2023. As you’ll be able to think about, a few of Springs’ different information signifies how rather more weak he’s at that velocity; he gave up a forty five.2% hard-hit price (36.5% profession) and 9.7% barrel price (7.7% profession) total in 2024, and towards solely his fastball opposing hitters managed a superstar-level 140 wRC+. The remainder of Springs’ repertoire is undamaged, particularly his changeup, which stays a superb, bat-missing weapon and generated its traditional plus-plus swinging strike price once more in 2024. Springs will range the form of his slider from a normal bullet type right into a extra lateral-action sweeper once in a while, and he appeared to return from rehab with a model new cutter.
The projection techniques we characteristic right here on the web site suppose a wholesome Springs would be the crew’s best starter. The Athletics’ ZiPS Projections had just some of their wholesome, incumbent starters exceeding 1 WAR, whereas FGDC and Steamer have Springs as a 2-WAR starter, a hair higher than their projections for Severino. However these projections have Springs in line for over 150 innings, which he has by no means come near throwing. Springs has had one wholesome season as a starter in his complete profession, and labored 135 innings that 12 months. He’ll make $10.5 million in every of the subsequent two seasons (and the A’s have a $15 million crew choice for 2027), and if Springs can strategy his 2022 output he’ll be a relative discount at that determine.
The Athletics additionally acquired lefty 26-year-old lefty Jacob Lopez, who had been a seldom-used spot starter/swingman in every of the final two seasons. He has eight profession massive league appearances, two of them begins, and is right down to his closing choice 12 months. Lopez has spent a majority of the final two years as a starter at Triple-A Durham. He’s a low-slot, cross-bodied lefty whose finest characteristic is his slider command. Lopez mixes low-90s four-seamers and sinkers in with lots of good upper-70s sliders. Fold in an occasional changeup and he has the instruments to cope with hitters of each handedness, although none of his pitches is very nasty. Lopez is a below-average athlete with a lower-effort supply designed for consistency. This kind of pitcher tends to work as a spot starter till their choices dry up, after which they sink or swim in a low-leverage aid position. With only one choice left, Lopez has a reasonably good shot to make the A’s Opening Day roster and pitch sufficient within the massive leagues to lose rookie standing in 2025.
The A’s rotation turns into extra secure with the shift from Joe Boyle to Springs as a result of the later throws strikes, and with this transfer they take one other step towards the division rivals who completed forward of them in final 12 months’s standings. It comes at the price of a excessive decide in an excellent draft and Boyle’s potential ceiling. The comp decide heading to Tampa Bay is thirty sixth total within the draft. My broad evaluation of the 2025 draft is that it has good depth, the tier of gamers that ordinarily peeters out within the comp spherical extends deep into the second spherical. The Rays now have 4 of the primary 51 picks within the draft and their accompanying bonus pool house. It’s not typical for a small market crew just like the Athletics to half with a draft asset like this except they’re extra clearly contending. Except for the occasional commerce, the commonest method groups just like the A’s and Rays can purchase a franchise-altering participant is through the draft.
The 6-foot-7 Boyle has been developed as a starter all through his complete professional profession and graduated from rookie standing as a member of Oakland’s rotation final 12 months, however he has had extreme stroll points since highschool and has projected as a reliever for his complete prospect lifetime. Nonetheless, Boyle is perhaps an enormous deal as a reliever. He sits 98 as a starter and does so with comical ease, however with zero really feel for location. Boyle’s two breaking balls (an upper-80s slider an low-80s curveball) are each very nasty (his slider has absurd motion for its velocity) however, once more, his utter lack of management dilutes the effectiveness of each.
It’s attainable that the Rays will try to do with Boyle what they efficiently achieved with Tyler Glasnow: Simplify his supply to make it extra constant and hope it’s sufficient for him to be a five-inning starter. Boyle has two choice years left, which provides them a bit extra time to attempt one thing like that. In the event that they wish to put Boyle within the bullpen instantly — a part of the explanation the Rays thought of Springs expendable is maybe due to their beginning pitcher depth, they usually suppose Boyle could be transformed to the pen — it’s attainable Boyle might be their finest reliever by midseason, nevertheless it’s additionally attainable he’ll be too wild to belief. Boyle has posted stroll charges north of 16% at principally each professional degree and is now 25 years outdated; this would possibly simply be who he’s.
The 2 new Rays minor leaguers are Will Simpson and Jacob Watters. Simpson, a late spherical choice out of Washington in 2023, spent nearly all of 2024 at Excessive-A Lansing however reached Double-A Midland by the top of the 12 months. Plus bat velocity and power make Simpson a risk from foul pole to foul pole, and he posted an .860 OPS in 2024, however a grooved swing and fringe third base protection create danger that Simpson might be a primary baseman with detrimental contact points. A Patrick Knowledge-type of final result could be nice for Simpson.
Watters, a 2022 fourth rounder from West Virginia, repeated Excessive-A in 2024 and had a bloated ERA for the second straight season. He sits 94, touches 96, and has a plus-flashing low-80s curveball. Under-average command funnels his analysis towards the bullpen, but when Watters has a velo spike in such a job, then he may fairly simply have the 2 plus pitches typical of a strong center reliever.
Each Simpson and Watters are within the mid-minors and doubtless two or three years away from the massive leagues, in the event that they get there in any respect. Whoever the Rays draft with their new decide might be even additional away. Whereas 4 items appears like quite a bit to surrender for 2 years of a not too long ago injured Springs at $10.5 million per 12 months, aside from Boyle (who would possibly merely be too wild to be good), all of those items are removed from maturing into useful main leaguers. The Rays shed a significant chunk of payroll for them, cleared a 40-man spot, opportunistically scooped up a excessive draft decide, and bought a man who may need speedy upside through one thing so simple as a shift into the bullpen. The commerce was a fantastic match for the Rays. Whereas we will perceive the numerous legitimate the reason why the A’s made this transfer, it’s robust to swallow coughing up a late first spherical draft decide for a reasonably well-compensated man who sits 90.