A's GM David Forst on Trade with Tampa Bay Rays for Jeffrey Springs

Jason Burke | Dec 15, 2024

Sep 13, 2022; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Jeffrey Springs (59) throws a pitch against the Toronto Blue Jays during the first inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images / Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

The Athletics continue to make moves this offseason, already bringing in Luis Severino to be the ace of the pitching staff after signing him to the richest deal in A's franchise history at three years and $67 million. This weekend they also made a deal with the Tampa Bay Rays to acquire left-hander Jeffrey Springs, giving the A's a nice one-two punch at the top of their rotation.

GM David Forst spoke with the media following the deal, and said that this trade is one that the two teams have been toying with since the middle of October, but that it really gained steam over the past couple of days. He also noted that Jacob Lopez, also a lefty, will be brought into the organization as a starting pitcher, though he will be a guy like Hogan Harris or Brady Basso (also lefties) that can "flip to the bullpen [and] be a swing-man type."

Springs had his breakout season in 2022 in his age 29 season, going 9-5 with a 2.46 ERA (3.04 FIP) across 135 1/3 innings. 25 of his 33 appearances that season came as a starting pitcher, which was to be his role moving forward, but after making three starts in 2023 in which he held a 0.56 ERA, he needed Tommy John surgery and missed the rest of the season. He came back in July of '24, making seven starts with a 3.27 ERA, before the Rays decided to play it safe and shut him down in September.

Forst noted that if it weren't for the injury that has had him miss the majority of the past two seasons, he's not sure that Springs would have even been available to them.

"I'm not sure he's available were he healthy the last two years. I mean, the way he started out 2023, he looked like he was on track to be one of, if not the best pitcher in the big leagues that year, with his first three starts...He did get shut down in September [of 2024], but if you ask the player, he wanted to continue pitching. They were just being overly cautious, and he feels great now."

Ken Rosenthal also did some digging on Springs being shut down, reporting, "According to a source, both he and the Rays informed the A’s that he could have kept pitching, but his surgeon, Dr. Keith Meister, advised against it."

Given his injury history over the past two seasons and totaling just 49 innings in the big leagues over that span, A's on SI asked Forst about any potential workload concerns for Springs in 2025.

"He obviously has not had a much of a workload the last two seasons. He got up close to 70 innings this year between rehab and the big leagues. And you know, '22 he was able to carry 130 plus. So I don't see any reason he couldn't throw 160+ innings this year.

"So, as we do with everybody will keep an eye on him as the season goes along. But it's not a situation where we go into the year having to worry about it."

As we have mentioned numerous times throughout the offseason, the A's have been really honing in on pitchers with ground ball rates above 50%, most recently with the addition of Noah Murdock in the in the Rule 5 Draft. Murdock held a ground ball rate of 62.1% last season, which could make him a terrific fit for the A's bullpen at Sutter Health Park.

Springs, however, is not a ground ball pitcher, topping out at 40.9% in 2022, his lone season of over 100 innings in the big leagues. Last season upon returning from injury, it sat at 38%.

When we asked Forst how he may fit into Sutter Health, given the team's desire to add guys that keep the ball on the ground, Forst didn't seem terribly worried.

"Well, in any park, ground balls have a better chance of not being homers, so certainly that's something we've looked at. I think I've said we don't really know yet how Sutter Health is going to play as a big league Park.

"Jeffrey throws strikes. He also has a lot of swing and miss with his fastball up in the zone and the change up. So I'm not too worried about that. He's had success in a lot of different ballparks.

As for where Springs will fit into the rotation, Forst reiterated that Severino will be the Opening Day starter, but that A's manager Mark Kotsay and pitching coach Scott Emerson will be in charge of filling out the rest of the starting rotation and where each player slots in.

This could end up being something where the A's want to space out the left-handers in their rotation, so he goes second or even fourth with JP Sears as the other lefty option. They could also choose to hold off on using Springs if they want to have one of their big additions this winter be on the bump for their first game in Sacramento, which would take place in the A's fifth game of the season. That isn't the likely outcome, given that the team will place winning games above all else, but it's something to consider.

To close things up, Forst was asked if there was a chance that he could look to add yet another starting pitcher this offseason. He said that they have open conversations about adding on, but that they'd have to weigh those options with the other opportunities they have in other spots.

"I wouldn't rule it out."