Athletics Select J.T. Ginn

The Athletics announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander J.T. Ginn. He will take the active roster spot of left-hander Scott Alexander, who has been placed on the 15-day injured list with left rotator cuff tendonitis, retroactive to August 18. The A’s already had a vacant 40-man roster spot and don’t need to make a corresponding move in that regard.

Ginn, 25, gets added to a major league roster for the first time, though he’s been a known name in baseball circles for a while. The Dodgers selected him with their first-round pick back in 2018, 30th overall, but Ginn didn’t sign and instead went to Mississippi State. For not signing Ginn, the Dodgers received a compensation pick, the 31st overall selection in the 2019 draft. They used that pick to draft Michael Busch.

While with Mississippi State, Ginn underwent Tommy John surgery in March of 2020. Though he was slated for a lengthy rehab, the Mets nonetheless took him in the second round of that year’s draft, the 52nd overall pick.

He was able to make his professional debut in 2021, making his first official appearance in June of that year. He eventually made 18 starts in 2021 between Single-A and High-A. He tossed 92 innings with a 3.03 earned run average, 21.9% strikeout rate and 5.9% walk rate.

The Mets then sent him to the A’s, alongside Adam Oller, in the March 2022 trade that sent Chris Bassitt to Queens. But Ginn has had plenty of challenges since switching organizations. In 2022, he missed time with a forearm injury and posted a 6.11 ERA in his 35 1/3 Double-A innings on the year. Those forearm issues lingered into 2023, when he tossed 22 1/3 innings at Double-A with an ERA of 8.06.

Here in 2024, the good news is that he’s been healthy enough to pitch. He’s thrown 102 2/3 innings over his 21 outings between Double-A and Triple-A. However, the results haven’t been outstanding. He has a combined 5.26 ERA on the year, with his 21.2% strikeout rate and 8.8% walk rate both fairly pedestrian. He’s getting grounders on more than half the balls put in play against him but has also allowed 13 home runs on the year.

Perhaps some rust is to be expected after he’s hit so many speed bumps in his professional career and the prospecting community seems to still have some faith in his future. Baseball America currently lists him as the #25 prospect in the organization, saying that he could carve out a role as a “back-of-the-rotation sinkerballer” if his health permits. He has the #17 spot in the system at FanGraphs, with that outlet also suggesting Ginn could be a viable back-end starter.

Perhaps Ginn will get his first taste of the major leagues as a reliever, or perhaps a few starts will be on the table. Veteran Ross Stripling was recently moved to a long relief role so that the club could give starts to younger pitchers like JP Sears, Joey Estes, Mitch Spence, Osvaldo Bido and Joe Boyle. Perhaps Ginn can push his way into that group or simply give the club an extra bullpen arm for the stretch run.

Ginn was going to be eligible for the Rule 5 draft this winter and was likely going to get a roster spot soon anyway, so Alexander’s IL placement will get him on there a bit ahead of schedule. He won’t be able to get a full year of service this year, so the A’s will be able to control him for at least six seasons beyond this one. He also has a full slate of options and the amount of time he spends in the minors in the next few years could impact his timeline to arbitration and free agency.