The Athletics have made their two option decisions of the offseason. On Friday afternoon the team announced that it was declining the club options for 2027 on both infielder Jeff McNeil and starting pitcher Jeffrey Springs:
Neither option being declined comes as any sort of surprise. With both in excess of $15 million it was a no-brainer after both veterans had down years in 2026,
Springs’ second with the team and McNeil’s first and likely only with the Green & Gold. Both players now hit the open market and are officially free to sign anywhere they want.
McNeil came over in an offseason trade with the New York Mets to provide a higher floor at the keystone after the A’s got little to no production out of the position in ‘25. After surrendering a lottery ticket pitching prospect to acquire the former NL batting champion, the hope was that he could act as a sort of table setter for the bigger bats in the lineup, or perhaps as a change-of-approach guy in the middle/back of the order.
Instead the 34-year-old McNeil suffered through his worst year as a big leaguer. The left-handed hitter got off to a rough start and didn’t really get it going until the team was buried in the standings in the second half. His age also caught up with him on defense as he eventually moved off of second base to make way for younger guys. McNeil made 43 starts at first base and even a few appearances in the outfield corners.
He did manage to bounce back with a strong second half and finished his season with an overall slash line of .264/.313/.368 with nine homers and eight stolen bases. Still, that wasn’t enough for the A’s to seriously consider picking up the option when the team is focused on younger players ready to make their mark. The nine-year veteran showed he still has something left in the tank if he wants to continue his career, but it just likely won’t be with the A’s.
As for Springs, it was another easy decision to decline the option. Another offseason addition, this one a couple years ago from the Tampa Bay Rays, Springs arrived with some decent expectations. He didn’t quite live up to those in his first year with the ball club but he was a serviceable arm that still had some potential.
His second season however did not turn out as hoped. The left-hander got off to a quick start to the season and looked like an ace his first few starts of the year. From there things went into a nose dive for the 33-year-old. As the weather warmed up and the ball began to fly more, the fly-ball style pitcher got hit hard, surrendering 35 long balls (tied for second-most in all of baseball). And most (23) of those came at his home ballpark of Sutter Health Park.
Since it’s his first time hitting free agency, plus his acknowledged unhappiness with playing at Sutter Health, it’s fair to expect him to have already been on the lookout for potential new homes by now. There’ll be some team out there that needs an innings eater. And there’ll surely be one that plays in a pitcher’s ballpark that think they can fix him (Giants? Mariners? Padres?). He won’t struggle to find work this offseason.
While his performance overall was less than spectacular, he still managed to take the ball every fifth day for the A’s and ended up leading the team in both starts (29) and innings pitched (142.2). Whether it’s through a trade or free agency, the Athletics will need to replace those innings and starts somehow. So long Springs and McNeil, and good luck on your next adventures!
