The A's Have Baseball's Most Underrated Bullpen

With Spring Training Games in full swing, we are getting even closer to the regular season. This off-season, the A's made a few minor splashes, especially on the pitching side of things.

The club opened up the off-season by bringing back veteran southpaw T.J. McFarland. Notably, McFarland led all relievers last season in appearances, and was manager Mark Kotsay's guy to turn to against left-handed hitters. He appeared in nearly 15 more games against left-handed hitters than right-handers.

McFarland also stepped up his play in the second half of 2024. Post All-Star break, he posted an ERA of 2.75 and even held a 1.29 ERA in the month of August. He was also in the 97th percentile of ground ball rate in the league which will be important for the Sacramento-bound A's playing in a minor-league ballpark where the ball is expected to travel more than it did in Oakland.

Later in the off-season, the Athletics added former Rangers' closer Jose Leclerc. Leclerc's 2024 campaign certainly didn't go exactly as the other seven years he spent with the Rangers.

However, some of Leclerc's splits during his last season are quite interesting. In home games at Globe Life Field, Leclerc posted a 5.40 ERA in 35 innings. In 31.2 innings on the road, Leclerc pitched to a 3.13 ERA. Now that Leclerc is away from Texas, maybe he will return to form in 2025.

The veteran closer has a career ERA of 3.27. It should also help that Texas didn't have a deep postseason run last season, like they did en route to the World Series in 2023. Sometimes those drop-offs happen with extra postseason innings and less recovery time.

Last season the A's had a pair of breakout arms in their arm barn. Michel Otañez is a flamethrowing right-hander who had a 2.97 ERA after the All-Star break. The 27-year-old had a mediocre start to his career, but in his great second half, he notably held a 0.87 ERA in the last month of the season.

With Mason Miller and Jose Leclerc manning the 8th and 9th innings on most days, Otañez would likely move into the middle innings. Because Otañez won't be needed in the later innings, the A's have more bullpen depth throughout the entirety of games.

The other breakout arm was 31-year-old Tyler Ferguson. The right-hander had a 3.68 ERA in over 51 innings with the A's last season. Like Otañez, Ferguson had a better second half, posting a 2.94 ERA. Also like Otañez, Ferguson was mainly a backend reliever for the A's last season, and could likely have a similar role, but with Leclerc and Miller also in the backend, the team has a lot of options.

The best pitcher on the staff is Mason Miller. Two years ago, Miller was expected to be a starter for the team, and made six starts in an injury-riddled 2023. Last off-season, the club wanted Miller to move to the bullpen to keep him healthy.

The move ended up being big for the team, as he would eventually become the team's closer and an All-Star. He also finished fourth in AL Rookie of the Year voting and is one of the league's best closers at just age 26.

There's a lot to look forward to in terms of the A's bullpen this upcoming season. Although it's still debateable if the A's are going to win even 75+ games, at least their bullpen should be even stronger than it was last season.