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 obtained 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 general choose within the 2025 draft.
Springs, who’s underneath contract by not less than 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 obtained harm a number of begins into 2023 and wanted Tommy John surgical procedure, which price 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 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 workforce 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 increase with the intention 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 possibly can think about, a few of Springs’ different knowledge signifies how far 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) general in 2024, and in opposition to 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 charge once more in 2024. Springs will fluctuate the form of his slider from a regular bullet fashion right into a extra lateral-action sweeper every now and then, 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 workforce’s most efficient 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 workforce 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 last 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 a number of 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 very nasty. Lopez is a below-average athlete with a lower-effort supply designed for consistency. This type 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 function. With only one choice left, Lopez has a fairly 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 choose in draft and Boyle’s potential ceiling. The comp choose heading to Tampa Bay is thirty sixth general 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 workforce just like the Athletics to half with a draft asset like this except they’re extra clearly contending. Except for the occasional commerce, the most typical means groups just like the A’s and Rays can purchase a franchise-altering participant is by way of 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 potential that the Rays will try and 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 supplies them a bit of extra time to strive 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, and so they suppose Boyle might be transformed to the pen — it’s potential Boyle can be their finest reliever by midseason, nevertheless it’s additionally potential he’ll be too wild to belief. Boyle has posted stroll charges north of 16% at mainly each professional stage and is now 25 years previous; 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 the vast majority of 2024 at Excessive-A Lansing however reached Double-A Midland by the top of the 12 months. Plus bat pace 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 threat that Simpson can be a primary baseman with detrimental contact points. A Patrick Knowledge-type of consequence 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. Beneath-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 stable center reliever.
Each Simpson and Watters are within the mid-minors and doubtless two or three years away from the large 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 appears like lots to surrender for 2 years of a lately injured Springs at $10.5 million per 12 months, 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 obtained a man who might need fast upside by way of one thing so simple as a shift into the bullpen. The commerce was an ideal match for the Rays. Whereas we will perceive the various legitimate 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.
