Former New York Yankees Prospect Has New Role in A's Bullpen

The A's selected right-hander Mitch Spence with the first overall pick in the 2023 Rule 5 Draft out of the New York Yankees system. He began the 2024 campaign as a long reliever for the A's after making the Opening Day roster, and when injuries befell the starting rotation, he found a home in the starting five for the remainder of the season.

Spence finished the 2024 campaign with a 4.58 ERA (4.21 FIP) across 35 appearances (24 starts) and 151.1 innings of work.

This season, he just missed out on re-joining the rotation, losing the battle for the fifth spot to righty Joey Estes out of camp. Though, when Estes struggled in his first two starts, he was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas, while Spence has remained in the bullpen.

Before the season began, A's manager Mark Kotsay called him the "joker" of the bullpen, meaning he could be used in a variety of roles. Some days he could work as a bulk guy and give his team a few innings, while on others he could pitch in leverage situations.

So far this season he holds a 4.50 ERA, but his FIP sits at an impressive 2.90 as he's getting 52% ground balls while seeing his velocity go up a tick while working in relief. He's removed the changeup from his arsenal now that he's not starting, and has been relying heavily on his cutter, going from a 39.6% usage rate a year ago to 60.5% this season.

Opposing batters are hitting just .238 against the cutter this season. He also holds a .358 BABIP which is a bit high, and figures to come down as the season moves along.

With former Texas Rangers reliever José Leclerc landing on the IL on Wednesday, Spence is now in a more permanent role in relief, having been used in the seventh inning in the two most recent games that the A's were either leading or tied at that point.

Athletics on SI asked Kotsay about Spence's usage after Wednesday's game, given that Leclerc had just landed on the IL and he was seemingly the first person to get a crack at being one of the setup men, working a scoreless seventh.

"That's the role, that's the inning that I envisioned for him breaking camp. He's been in more of the long role of late, but to have him in the seventh inning of that game, I felt really good, really confident in him being able to go out there and get a shutdown inning. You'll see more of that."

The A's manager didn't want to stop at just the seventh inning for the former Yankees prospect, either.

"If the situation calls for him to throw two innings, we can do that. We can finish the game with him as well. You saw a role tonight that he hasn't pitched in this season, but that's how I envision it."