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May 10, 2025; West Sacramento, California, USA; Athletics pitcher Grant Holman (67) throws a pitch against the New York Yankees during the seventh inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images Dennis Lee-Imagn Images

Don't Sleep on These Three A's Relievers in 2026

Originally posted on Oakland Athletics on SI
By Jason Burke | Last updated Jan 3, 2026 9:00 AM ET

The Athletics pitching staff ranked 27th in MLB last season with a 4.71 ERA, though the relief pitchers were a tad better at a 4.53 ERA, ranking 24th. With just a few weeks left until pitchers and catchers report for spring training, adding some pitching is on the A's to-do list.

That said, they also have some arms internally that could provide some meaningful innings out of the bullpen this season, though none of the three are necessarily expected to make the Opening Day roster the way things are constructed currently.

The first name on our list is one that will be familiar to A's fans, as he's appeared with the club the past two seasons. That would be 25-year-old right-hander Grant Holman, who posted a 5.09 ERA last season with a 4.66 FIP. He pitched fairly well in limited innings at home in Sacramento, holding a 3.95 ERA across 13 2/3 innings of work, which is a good sign.

He came up for the A's towards the end of April, and was pitching really well for about a month, allowing just one earned run in 14 1/3 innings of work, giving him an 0.63 ERA. Then he ran into the Los Angeles Angels, who lit him up for five earned in 2/3 of an inning on May 22, which ballooned his ERA to 3.60.

This was also at a time in the year when the A's went on a 1-20 run, and everyone in the bullpen was impacted.

A couple of outings later, he'd give up another pair of runs in Toronto, again over 2/3 of an inning, giving him a 6.00 ERA in the month of May. The Blue Jays got to him yet again two days later, and his season ended with the Angels clubbing him yet again, scoring three runs before he could record an out. He hit a batter, walked a batter and gave up a hit in that outing.

It was at that point that Holman was shut down for the season with right shoulder rotator cuff tendinitis.

While the final ERA wasn't sterling, he'd been roughly a league average relief arm at least (3.91 ERA) before his final appearance. When a player lands on the IL for an extended period, especially with a season-ending injury, taking that last appearance out of the mix seems like it eliminates some of the variables of when the injury occurred and if it impacted that final performance.

If he comes into camp healthy, he could be a sneaky pick to be in the bullpen for the season opener.

From the Mason Miller trade

Dennis Lee-Imagn Images

After being acquired from the San Diego Padres in the Mason Miller trade, Eduarniel Nuñez was in the A's bullpen for a handful of appearances in August, holding a 9.00 ERA across eight total innings. In that span he struck out nine and walked seven, giving him a 23.1% strikeout rate with a 17.9% walk rate in the green and gold.

It wasn't the best start for Nuñez, who reguarly worked full counts with a 59% strike percentage and averaged 19.66 pitches per inning. While he has top shelf velocity, sitting at 98.1 miles per hour, he wasn't commanding the baseball, and his limited extension (5th percentile) actually makes the ball appear as though it's coming in a little slower.

Given that he throws basically a four-seamer and a slider, if he's not commanding both offerings, batters can sit back on the one he can command at that moment and do some damage. We saw this happen when Mason Miller at times when wasn't able to control his slider.

He finished with a 7.11 ERA (6.77 FIP) in his time in the big leagues between the A's and Padres, and the advanced numbers don't suggest that there was some hidden performance just below the surface. That said, he did run a .400 BABIP in his small sample with the A's and only held a 20% ground ball rate between both clubs, which is extremely low.

In his time in the minors last season, that ground ball rate sat at 53.5%, and he ended up with a 2.51 ERA (2.90 FIP) across 46 2/3 innings of work. If he shows up to camp keeping the ball on the ground a bit more, he could be someone to keep an eye on sooner rather than later.

The expectation isn't that he'd make the opening day roster, but if he has an eye-opening spring, he could certainly work his way into the team's plans quickly.

Back for more after breakout season in the minors

Last offseason, the A's signed Gustavo Rodriguez to a minor-league contract after he'd spent six seasons in the St. Louis Cardinals system, topping out at High-A. In 2025, the A's started him with their own High-A affiliate in Lansing, and after six innings of work (along with a 0.00 ERA), they bumped him up to Double-A Midland.

He tossed another 6 1/3 scoreless innings with the RockHounds, and was off to Triple-A Las Vegas, where he'd spend the rest of the year, holding a 2.27 ERA in 31 2/3 innings. Overall, he finished with a 1.64 ERA (3.82 FIP) in 44 frames. After the season he hit free agency, but has since re-signed with the A's on another minor-league deal.

After the season he had a year ago, he could be on the short list of non-roster arms that have a chance to make an impact in 2026, joining Nick Anderson. He ended up saving nine games across the A's affiliates in 2025, and given that the big-league team has yet to add much to the bullpen this winter, perhaps that door could be left open a crack for Rodriguez to give it a go.

The 24-year-old has yet to make his big-league debut, so he wouldn't be thrust into closing duties out of the gate, but it's potentially an avenue that could open if he has some early success. Of course, that route depends upon what else the A's do this winter.

This article first appeared on Oakland Athletics on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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