Athletics bolster rotation with Jeffrey Springs, Rays add projects, pick: Law

Trade details: Athletics get LHP Jeffrey Springs and LHP Jacob Lopez from the Tampa Bay Rays for RHP Joe Boyle, RHP Jacob Watters, 1B/3B Will Simpson and a Compensation Round A prime successful the 2025 MLB Draft.

The Athletics continued to upgrade their roster for 2025 by trading 3 players for left-hander Jeffrey Springs, arsenic Tampa Bay moves the $21 cardinal guaranteed to Springs complete the adjacent 2 years and picks up a brace of absorbing prospects who request immoderate improvement help.

The A’s adhd different starter to fresh down Luis Severino pinch Springs, who came backmost from Tommy John room successful 2024 to look rather a spot for illustration the No. 2 starter he was earlier the operation, pinch a positive changeup and astatine slightest a 55 slider (out of the 20-80 scouting scale), going offspeed for astir 60 percent of his pitches because his fastball is conscionable 90-92 mph and gets deed harder than thing other he throws.

Springs hasn’t had a afloat play arsenic a starter, however, arsenic the Rays moved him from the bullpen to the rotation successful May 2022, and he blew retired his elbow the pursuing April, truthful his 135 1/3 innings successful 2022 is his profession high. If patient and capable to grip the workload, he could beryllium a 3-WAR starter for the A’s, who surely look to beryllium trying to section a much competitory squad for their first play successful Sacramento. Severino, Springs, and J.P. Sears are astatine slightest a reliable beforehand three, and they person a bunch of candidates for the last 2 spots — not a contending rotation, but a respectable one.

Jacob Lopez is simply a coagulated left-handed reliever pinch large hold and a 55 slider that gets a batch of pursuit retired of the zone, pinch capable of a way grounds of getting left-handed batters retired successful the precocious minors to fresh successful towards the little extremity of someone’s bullpen. I’m not judge really he fits pinch the A’s, who person Brady Basso and T.J. McFarland to capable that aforesaid role.

Will Simpson was a 2023 15th-round prime retired of the University of Washington, signing for $150,000 aft a good if unremarkable inferior year, wherever he deed .335/.418/.643 but struck retired doubly arsenic often (23 percent) arsenic he walked (11.3 percent). In pro ball, he’s held that interaction complaint while stepping much and showing overmuch amended consciousness to hit, pinch a .270/.373/.480 statement successful High A arsenic a 22-year-old past year, followed by a .348/.408/.493 statement successful 18 games successful Double A.

Simpson does grow the area much than you’d for illustration for his property and acquisition level, particularly for sliders down and distant and fastballs up, and is measurement excessively fierce pinch 2 strikes. On the positive side, he makes a batch of difficult interaction and puts the shot successful the aerial a ton, truthful moreover pinch a 25 percent strikeout rate, he could beryllium a productive regular acknowledgment to his above-average powerfulness and locomotion rates. He’s mostly played first guidelines for the A’s but sewage astir 100 innings astatine 3rd guidelines this twelvemonth and is simply a bully capable jock to astatine slightest spell backmost location for a longer trial.

Right-hander Jacob Watters has mostly worked arsenic a starter since the A’s took him successful the 4th information successful 2022, but he’s a dormant reliever owed to 30-35 bid and possibly 35 power erstwhile he’s starting, on pinch nary transportation for lefties. He threw consistently harder successful assemblage astatine West Virginia but averaged 94-95 this year, moreover erstwhile moving successful relief, topping retired astatine 99. It’s a short limb action but thing to explicate the mediocre bid aliases to make you opportunity he can’t start, but he walks astir 12 percent of batters successful immoderate domiciled and erstwhile he’s starting he misses excessively galore spots pinch his fastball. His curveball is simply a hammer, though, astatine slightest a 60 and tin of missing a batch of bats. I’d conscionable put him successful the bullpen full-time and fto him roll.

Right-hander Joe Boyle averages 97-98 pinch power that makes Watters look for illustration Carlos Silva, stepping 17.7 percent of batters he faced successful the fields past twelvemonth and 18.9 percent of batters he’s faced successful his minor-league career. His fastball is simply a high-spin four-seamer and his slider is astatine slightest a 55, truthful location is thing for the Rays to activity with, but Tampa will beryllium his 3rd statement and he hasn’t thrown strikes astatine moreover an capable complaint since astatine slightest precocious school. If he had immoderate worse bid than this, we’d opportunity he had the yips.

The Rays besides person the A’s Compensation Round A pick, which gives the Rays 3 selections successful the apical 36 picks successful this upcoming draft. Last year, that slot (No. 36) was worthy $2.6 million. The Guardians utilized that prime connected a precocious schoolhouse right-hander, Braylon Doughty.

(Top photograph of Springs: Douglas P. DeFelice / Getty Images)

Keith Law is simply a elder shot writer for The Athletic. He has covered the athletics since 2006 and anterior to that was a typical adjunct to the wide head for the Toronto Blue Jays. He's the writer of "Smart Baseball" (2017) and "The Inside Game: Bad Calls, Strange Moves, and What Baseball Behavior Teaches Us About Ourselves" (2020), some from William Morrow. He's connected Instagram/Threads astatine @mrkeithlaw and Bluesky astatine @keithlaw.bsky.social. Follow Keith connected Twitter @keithlaw