Tampa Bay Rays Trade Pitcher Jeffrey Springs to Athletics in Multi-Player Deal

Jeffrey Springs was set to boast the highest salary on the Tampa Bay Rays' payroll in 2025, so the Athletics swooped in to add the left-hander to their new-look rotation.

Aug 11, 2024; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Jeffrey Springs (59) throws a pitch against the Baltimore Orioles during the second inning at Tropicana Field. / Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

The Tampa Bay Rays traded left-handed pitcher Jeffrey Springs to the Athletics on Saturday, the team has announced.

ESPN's Jeff Passan was first to report the move.

The A's sent right-handed pitchers Joe Boyle and Jacob Watters, as well as first baseman Will Simpson, back to the Rays as part of the deal. Tampa Bay will also be picking up a 2025 compensation A round draft pick in the exchange.

Simpson is ranked as the No. 28 prospect in the A's farm system. Watters was ranked No. 30 entering 2023, while the 25-year-old Boyle has 13 MLB starts and a 0.1 career WAR under his belt.

Left-handed pitcher Jacob Lopez went from Tampa Bay to Sacramento alongside Springs.

The Tampa Bay Rays have acquired RHP Joe Boyle, INF Will Simpson, RHP Jacob Watters and a Competitive Balance Round A pick in the 2025 First-Year Player Draft in exchange for LHP Jeffrey Springs and LHP Jacob Lopez.

— Rays Communications (@RaysPR) December 14, 2024

Springs is due $10.5 million in both 2025 and 2026, plus $15 million in 2027 if his club option gets picked up. That had him on pace to be the Rays' highest-paid player this season, so the front office shipped his contract out of town.

The 32-year-old southpaw underwent Tommy John surgery in April 2023, three months after he inked a four-year, $31 million extension. He returned for seven starts in 2024, though, going 2-2 with a 3.27 ERA, 1.364 WHIP, 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings and a 0.9 WAR before he got shut down in September due to arm fatigue.

Over the course of his four-year stint in Tampa Bay, Springs went 18-8 with a 2.63 ERA, 1.079 WHIP, 268 strikeouts and a 5.7 WAR in 229.0 innings of work.

Springs now joins an A's rotation that already added former New York Yankees and New York Mets starter Luis Severino on a franchise-record three-year, $67 million contract last week. JP Sears, Mitch Spence and Joey Estes will presumably round out the five-man group in 2025.

Spending big on Severino and trading for Springs were necessary moves for the Athletics, who were going to have a tough time attracting talent as they prepared to play the next three seasons at a minor league park in Sacramento.

As for the Rays, they have now traded four viable starters in the last 12 months, starting with the deal that sent Tyler Glasnow to the Los Angeles Dodgers last December. In July, they traded Aaron Civale to the Milwaukee Brewers and Zach Eflin to the Baltimore Orioles.

And yet, Tampa Bay still has starting pitching depth in the former of Zack Littell, Taj Bradley, Ryan Pepiot, Shane Baz and Drew Rasmussen, plus ace Shane McClanahan returning from a UCL procedure of his own. Boyle could be an option as well, depending on Rasmussen and McClanahan's health.

Littell had been caught up in trade rumors ahead of the deadline and early in the offseason, but Springs wound up being the odd man out.

The Rays will also be setting up shop in a non-MLB stadium in 2025, playing their home games at the New York Yankees' Spring Training facility – George M. Steinbrenner Field – as Tropicana Field undergoes repairs in the wake of Hurricane Milton.

Follow Fastball On SI on social media

Continue to follow our Fastball On SI coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following us on Twitter @FastballFN.

You can also follow Sam Connon on Twitter @SamConnon.