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 obtained wild, hard-throwing righty Joe Boyle, two minor leaguers (first baseman Will Simpson and right-handed pitcher Jacob Watters), and the thirty sixth total choose 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 number 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 protracted, 12-start minor league rehab interval, Springs had good surface-level stats within the massive leagues – 7 GS, 33 IP, 37 Ok, 1.36 WHIP, 3.27 ERA – however confirmed decreased 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 probably should proceed to develop with a view to keep away from a grievance from the MLB Gamers Affiliation.
Springs’ fastball averaged 90 mph in his 2024 massive league begins, a couple of 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 knowledge signifies how way more weak he’s at that velocity; he gave up a forty five.2% hard-hit charge (36.5% profession) and 9.7% barrel charge (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 unbroken, particularly his changeup, which stays a wonderful, bat-missing weapon and generated its regular plus-plus swinging strike charge once more in 2024. Springs will fluctuate the form of his slider from a normal bullet model right into a extra lateral-action sweeper now and again, and he appeared to return from rehab with a model new cutter.
The projection techniques we function right here on the website 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 whole profession, and labored 135 innings that yr. He’ll make $10.5 million in every of the following two seasons (and the A’s have a $15 million crew possibility for 2027), and if Springs can method his 2022 output he’ll be a relative cut price at that determine.
The Athletics additionally obtained 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 all the way down to his closing possibility yr. 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 greatest function is his slider command. Lopez mixes low-90s four-seamers and sinkers in with numerous good upper-70s sliders. Fold in an occasional changeup and he has the instruments to take care of hitters of each handedness, although none of his pitches is particularly nasty. Lopez is a below-average athlete with a lower-effort supply designed for consistency. This form 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 possibility 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 yr’s standings. It comes at the price of a excessive choose in an excellent draft and Boyle’s potential ceiling. The comp choose 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 area. 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. Apart from the occasional commerce, the most typical means 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 whole professional profession and graduated from rookie standing as a member of Oakland’s rotation final yr, however he has had extreme stroll points since highschool and has projected as a reliever for his whole prospect lifetime. Nonetheless, Boyle could be 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 and do with Boyle what they efficiently completed 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 possibility years left, which supplies them somewhat extra time to strive one thing like that. In the event that they need 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 can be their greatest reliever by midseason, however 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 may 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 tip of the yr. Plus bat pace and power make Simpson a menace 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 can be a primary baseman with detrimental contact points. A Patrick Knowledge-type of end 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 task, then he might 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 choose might be even additional away. Whereas 4 items seems like rather a lot to surrender for 2 years of a not too long ago injured Springs at $10.5 million per yr, aside from Boyle (who may 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 choose, and bought a man who may need speedy upside through one thing so simple as a shift into the bullpen. The commerce was a terrific match for the Rays. Whereas we are able to perceive the numerous legitimate the explanation why the A’s made this transfer, it’s robust to swallow coughing up a late first spherical draft choose for a reasonably well-compensated man who sits 90.