A's Must Shake Up Their Pitching Staff

After starting the season 22-20, the Athletics have fallen off a cliff. They now hold a 26-43 record, which is second-worst in the American League and the third-worst in Major League Baseball. Despite the record, the A's offense has been impressive this season, ranking in the top ten in most major categories.

It's the A's pitching that has been a severe disappointment thus far and hasn't shown signs of improving.

On the season, the A's pitching staff holds the worst ERA in baseball at 5.62. They rank second worst in WHIP (1.52), batting average against (.273), and have given up 29 more earned runs than the next team: the 12-53 Colorado Rockies. Over the last 30 days, the A's staff ERA sits at 6.81, with the other previously mentioned stats significantly worse as well.

Coming into the season, the goal for the young club was to continue what they did in the second half of the 2024 season, and play .500 baseball. If the A's could reach 81 wins, it would signify that they are turning a page and ready to compete. Now, that goal seems out of reach, as the A's would have to go 55-38 (.591) the rest of the season to reach a .500 record.

Thankfully, with the A's wanting to become a competitive ball club in the near future, they will not wave the white flag, deem this season a loss, and "tank". There is a chance the A's could turn the season around and finish with a mid-70-win record, which would still be an improvement, but the pitching performances must change.

Luis Severino and Jeffrey Springs were the A's "big gets" of the offseason, but both have been disappointing so far. Each has given up 47 runs, which is the most runs given up by a pitcher in the AL. Five pitchers (three Rockies) have given up more runs, and all five are in the National League.

A bullpen role might suit Springs better, as that has been his role most of his MLB career. Springs has a poor walk rate at 9.7% and holds an average WHIP of 1.30 this season. In addition, his chase, whiff, and strikeout percentages are all way down from his previous three seasons, albeit two of those years were injury-shortened.

The A's front office felt confident that Springs could go roughly 150 innings this season, even with limited workloads the past two seasons, but having him in the bullpen would be one way to limit those innings the rest of the way while keeping him healthy for 2026.

If the A's opted to go with a bullpen role for Springs, they could promote No. 10 prospect Jack Perkins, who has a 3.58 ERA in Triple-A Las Vegas. Perkins, in a hitter-friendly league, is holding batters to a .190 batting average and a slugging percentage of .310. As well as striking out 49 batters across 32.2 innings.

No. 5 prospect Luis Morales and No. 2 prospect Gage Jump are also getting closer to being ready for the big leagues, with Morales having four starts under his belt in Triple-A, and Jump dominating Double-A. Some believe he could even make the jump straight from Midland to West Sacramento, though with the club's record where it is, the A's may not rush him.

Other pitchers like Osvaldo Bido, Jacob Lopez, and Hogan Harris have been rocky this season. Harris has been the best of that group, but holds a 1.50 WHIP and a very poor 13.4% walk rate. Bido, who has already been optioned once to Triple-A Las Vegas, has not had a great year with an ERA over six. He's now in a relief role and hasn't pitched since June 3.

The issue is, the A's pitching depth that is "MLB-ready" is very thin. However, J.T. Ginn is on a rehab assignment in Las Vegas and will be ready to return soon. The A's could explore a bullpen role for him, to keep him healthy and get him some innings at the MLB level, as he has been on the injured list twice already this season.

Brady Basso, who impressed last season as a rookie, has started his rehab assignment, and the A's are looking at a bullpen role for him. He was terrific to begin spring training, but hasn't made his 2025 season debut just yet.

Even if the A's decide to shuffle around their pitching staff, there is no guarantee that the results improve. They may have to wait for their top pitching prospects to reach "MLB-ready" status before they see any results, that's if they want to go with their in-house options.

One move that would really shake things up would be parting ways with long-time A's coach and current pitching coach, Scott Emerson, as the A's staff hasn't been that great the past four or five seasons. At the same time, they team would have to weigh how much leeway to give him, since those were rebuilding seasons.

Then again, the A's returns for Matt Chapman, Matt Olson, and Sean Murphy were fairly heavy on pitchers, and seemingly none of them (aside from Joey Estes) is still in the organization just a few years later. Is that a front office problem where they targeted the wrong guys, or a development problem?

In the end, something has to give, because if the A's are serious about becoming a competitive team, they can't have a worse pitching staff than a team with 12 wins on the season.