A's Two Big Offseason Additions Both on Trade Block

The Athletics front office was active over the winter, adding starting pitching to the roster in the hope that the club would be competitive in 2025. With the A's holding a 42-59 record entering play on Monday, not only are they well short of their goal of being a .500 team, but they're in a similar position to where they've been in recent seasons.

Despite some breakout performances from Jacob WIlson and Nick Kurtz, the team's pitching has largely held them back. The starters rank 28th in ERA while the bullpen ranks 29th, and both groups rank in the bottom five in baseball in most important categories.

Still, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, they have made Luis Severino, Jeffrey Springs, and JP Sears available via trade this deadline season. The reasoning seems to be that there isn't a ton of controllable starting pitching on the market, and the A's are looking to build up that supply a bit in the hope of reaping more of a return.

Severino's performance this season has been well documented, as have his issues with the ballpark in West Sacramento. He holds a 5.10 ERA on the season overall, but that includes a 3.10 ERA on the road, and a 6.68 ERA at home. The hope for an acquiring team would be that he'd be that road pitcher wherever he pitches outside of Sacramento.

He will be owed $25 million in 2026 and has a $22 player option for 2027 which could make the move a little tricky with his splits. The assumption is that the A's would have to eat some of that contract.

Springs has been arguably the A's best pitcher this season, and is owed just $10.5 million next year. He also has a club option season at $15 million for 2027, which is a bargain if he's performing well. In 21 games this year, Springs holds a 4.18 ERA. Since May 1, he's performed much better with a 3.57. Of this trio of pitchers, Springs is likely the biggest trade chip the club has.

Sears is the tricky one because he has been a huge part of this club's rebuilding efforts and has taken the ball every fifth day--without fail--since joining the A's rotation in 2022. This season he holds a 5.13 ERA thanks to his home run rate ticking up in the A's minor-league ballpark. Outside of the extra long balls he's been the roughly the same as last season, which is a consistent league average pitcher.

He may not be in a postseason contender's rotation in October, but he's a reliable lefty that can help get a team there. Sears is also the type of player that could be available to any number of teams, given that he has three years of arbitration remaining following this season. An innings eater with limited financial obligation is something just about every team would be after.

The A's have a slew of younger arms that are near-ready for their own MLB debuts, and this year's first-round pick Jamie Arnold is seen as another arm that can move quickly through the system. Gage Jump and Luis Morales are another two that are close to the big leagues.

Rosenthal also added a bit of context to the Mason Miller trade rumors, saying that the A's asking price is set high, and they believe only a few teams will be "bold enough" to match what they're after, so yesterday's report that they're not talking about him was accurate, but the belief is that the A's front office will engage the teams that they feel are serious about making a deal.

One of those teams could be the Philadelphia Phillies, who we discussed recently and put together a trade package that could make a deal work for both sides.

Regardless of what happens with the A's this trade deadline, it appears as though nothing is imminent, and that the front office plans to use the allotted time before the deadline to engage teams to gauge what they're willing to give up, then using the countdown to the deadline to potentially increase those offers.