Today our ‘Season in Review’ series turns back to starting pitching. Specifically, we’ll dive into the inaugural season of Jeffrey Springs, a 33-year-old lefty starter for the A’s.
How was he acquired?
Jeffrey Springs attended high school in Belmont, North Carolina and graduated from Appalachian State University in 2015. He was drafted out of ASU in the 2015 MLB Amateur Draft in the 30th round by the Texas Rangers. He bounced around a bit after making the Rangers opening day roster in 2019. In 2020
he was traded to the Red Sox and then in 2021 he was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays. On December 14, 2024, the Rays traded Springs and Jacob Lopez to the Athletics for Joe Boyle, Will Simpson, Jacob Watters, and a Competitive Balance Round A pick in the 2025 MLB draft.
What were the expectations?
Springs career has been riddled with injuries. But when he’s been healthy, he’s been effective as both a starter and as a reliever. The A’s entered the season with him in the starting rotation, hoping to keep him healthy and to see him flourish out on the west coast.
2025 Results
I think it’s safe to say that the A’s got what they traded for. He was a healthy, reliable, left-handed starter who did not miss his turn in the rotation even once throughout the entire season. A’s manager Mark Kosay seemed to experiment with using him after a one-inning opener in early June, but after two games (both going six innings and giving up three earned runs in each outing) he went back to using him as a traditional starter again. He topped his previous career highs in starts (30), innings pitched (171) and wins (11). Unfortunately, he also hit career highs in earned runs (78) and home runs allowed (28). This can at least partially be blamed on Sutter Health Park. The Oakland Coliseum was very much a pitchers park. However, that wasn’t close to the case in Sacramento. Sutter Health had the second-highest run lean (117) in the Majors last year, behind only Coors Field (132). It also ranked sixth in home run lean (112) according to New Baseball Media.
All-in-all Springs was a solid performer and a steadying influence on a generally young and emerging staff.
2026 Outlook
Springs is signed through 2026 with a team option for 2027. He’ll be making the same salary as last season, $10.5 million. Based on last year’s performance, I can’t imagine that the front office would move him unless an “offer they couldn’t refuse” came along. In the meantime, expect Springs to serve as the team’s number one or number two starter (depending on righty/lefty matchups) and to be a solid mentor for the young arms in the rotation.
