Could the A's trade JP Sears to address other needs?

Jason Burke | Dec 3, 2024

Sep 15, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Oakland Athletics starting pitcher JP Sears (38) delivers a pitch against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning at Guaranteed Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images / Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

This offseason is definitely a unique one for the Athletics. They'll be leaving their home in Oakland and venturing up north to Sacramento to play for three or four seasons before potentially landing in Las Vegas. With these changes could come changes to the A's roster.

The Oakland Coliseum was always seen as more of a pitcher's park, which is supported by park factor data. What that data also says is that the park was not favorable to the long ball, with only San Francisco's Oracle Park rating lower.

We've discussed numerous times how the A's have been targeting pitchers with ground ball rates above 50% in the early going of this winter, but it's also likely that home runs will be a little more frequent in 2025 with the A's playing in a minor league facility and warmer weather.

The question at hand is how these new park factors could impact a pitcher already on the staff like JP Sears. Don't get us wrong, Sears has been tremendous for the A's the past two seasons, making all 32 starts both years while providing innings and league average production. That type of pitcher is necessary to get through a Major League Baseball season.

The question is whether Sears' stats will hold steady at Sutter Health Park, or if he could be negatively impacted by the move, thus making him less valuable to the club overall.

In his first full year with the A's in 2023, the lefty allowed 34 home runs in 172 1/3 innings, finishing the year with a 4.54 ERA. Those numbers all improved this past season, with Sears allowing just 28 homers in 180 2/3 innings and posting a 4.38 ERA. In each season he outperformed his FIP, which tended to hover closer to 5.

One factor that could disprove this concern is that Sears was actually worse at home in 2024, posting a 5.29 ERA in 80 innings, though his FIP was nearly a run lower and closer to the ERA he finished the season with at 4.47. On the road he held a 3.67 ERA with a 4.90 FIP. He also pitched worse by comparison at the Coliseum in 2023.

Could leaving the Coliseum for Sutter Health actually help Sears? It's possible.

There is no certain answer to this question, but if the front office wanted to explore a trade of Sears given some of these questions, they would likely get a decent return package for him, especially given that he's still pre-arb and won't hit the free agent market until after the 2028 season.

The San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets, and Detroit Tigers would be just a few of the teams where Sears would be a terrific fit. Could the A's use Sears to land someone like Bret Baty from the Mets to address another need, or land a pitcher with similar team control remaining that would fit in their new park a bit better?

It's a question that will need an answer this winter.