Luis Severino Could Decide the A's 2026 Season

A little over a year ago, the A's signed right-hander Luis Severino to the largest contract in franchise history, at least at the time. That deal has since been surpassed by Tyler Soderstrom's Christmas day extension for seven years and $86 million.

Severino's first year with the green and gold wasn't the best. After a dominant outing in the opener in Seattle, Severino's home woes began, and he held a cumulative 4.74 ERA just three starts into his tenure with the club. There would be plenty of highs and lows over the course of the season, but he'd finish right around that mark, at 4.54, making 29 starts.

It's been talked about plenty, but his home and road splits told the story of his season. At Sutter Health Park in Sacramento, he held a 6.01 ERA, while he was the ace the A's were hoping for anywhere else in America, posting a 3.02 ERA on the road.

Severino had plenty to say about the A's ballpark over the course of the season, but the A's are making some moves to make him more comfortable.

Per MLB.com, "The A’s clubhouse will remain situated beyond left field. But for next season, Severino and the rest of the A’s pitchers will have a place to go besides the bench. During last week’s Winter Meetings in Orlando, A’s general manger David Forst told MLB.com that work is already underway on a room within the dugout designed for pitchers to utilize if they'd like to when they are not on the mound.

"The room, which Forst jokingly referred to as "The Severino Room," will be added to both the home and visiting dugouts."

There's no telling how Severino will respond when pitching in Sacramento with his very own room, though the hope is certainly that he'll be able to replicate some of his road numbers from this past season with the added amenities.

It looked as though he was on the road to turning things around at home down the stretch—even without the "Severino Room." He said after his final start of the year that he felt a change back in July when he was facing the Toronto Blue Jays.

From that point forward, he made a total of four home starts and held a 3.00 ERA across 21 total innings. In three of those four outings he was tremendous, allowing one or fewer runs, while in that fourth he gave up five earned in five frames against the Cincinnati Reds.

This resurgence was thanks to a heavier reliance on his heater, which began right around that start against Toronto.

If Severino can continue that trend into 2026, that would have a huge impact on the A's outlook in 2026. They have a very interesting group of players heading into the year, but they're also a fairly inexperienced group. It'll be up to Severino to set the tone of the group.

Outside of Severino and Springs, there isn't another starting option with more than two years of service time, and that bar is only set that high because Luis Medina, returning from injury, could be considered for a starting role. We believe he's a better fit in the bullpen with a presumed innings limit and no options remaining, but we'll have to wait and see.

Outside of Medina, the A's other starting options max out around one year of service time, while a number of others have racked up a handful of starts.

The question now is how much of an impact those tweaks from Severino will have in the coming season, and if he'll be throwing the ball as well as he was in 2025. If everything were to stay the same, there would be plenty of optimism surrounding Severino, who seemed to figure things out as the season went on.

The veteran right-hander also mentioned that part of the reason that he signed with the A's was so that he could have battles with the Houston Astros in the AL West. In his final start of 2025, he shut them down in Sacramento, giving up just three hits in 6 1/3 innings of scoreless ball.

Luckily for him and the A's, there will be an opportunity for him to face the Astros, at home, in the first homestand of the 2026 season. The one problem is that if he pitches the opener in Toronto, then he would be lined up to face the Atlanta Braves in the final game of the team's second series, which would have him miss the Astros.

Perhaps pushing him back to the second day would be a better move, so that he can face Houston at home and get his 2026 started off on the right foot.

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