Former New York Mets Starter Set for A's Debut

Oct 1, 2024; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; New York Mets pitcher Luis Severino (40) throws a pitch during the first inning in game one of the Wildcard round for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

The biggest signing of not only the Sacramento A's offseason, but in franchise history, Luis Severino, will be making his debut in the green and gold on Thursday. The right-hander spent last season as a member of the New York Mets before signing a three-year, $67 million deal with the Athletics.

With the Mets in 2024, Severino posted a 3.91 ERA with a 1.24 WHIP across 182 innings. In his last season with the Yankees in 2023, it came out that Severino was tipping his pitches a bit throughout that season, which led to his 6.65 ERA with the Bronx Bombers. That problem was fixed with the Mets, and he went on to have a pretty solid season.

Coming into this year, he's going to sit atop the A's rotation, and is expected to lead this young staff as they hope to reach the .500 mark or better in 2025.

Thursday will be his first time on the bump for the club, and he'll be taking on the San Diego Padres, with Matt Waldron getting his second look at the A's bats this spring.

Following Severino for today's matchup will be J.T. Ginn, Brady Basso, José Leclerc, Tyler Ferguson, and Tanner Dodson. Ginn and Basso are likely to be depth pieces in the rotation this season, after each made their MLB debuts in 2024 and had some solid outings. Leclerc and Ferguson are slotted in as late-inning relief pitchers.

Severino on the bump 👀 pic.twitter.com/50L1CR23y4

— Athletics (@Athletics) February 27, 2025

Dodson, 27, has spent the last few seasons in the Los Angeles Dodgers' system and held a 3.32 ERA (4.96 FIP) across 62.1 innings in Triple-A Oklahoma City last season. While he is expected to be a depth piece out of the bullpen, one reason he could see a decent amount of time in Sacramento is that his ground ball rate last year sat at 63.2%.

That is a ridiculously high ground ball rate, but Dodson has been running 60+ rates for years in the minors, so it's not unusual. The reason that could come in handy for the Sacto-A's is that the team is unsure of how their new ballpark will play, and one way to ensure balls won't fly over the fence is to keep them on the ground.

If Sutter Health Park is playing more hitter-friendly than they're thinking during the summer, then Dodson could be on a flight to Sacramento.

Jeffrey Springs Set for Round Two

On Friday, the A's other big addition of the offseason, Jeffrey Springs, will take his second turn through the order against the Cincinnati Reds. In his first outing, Springs went two innings, gave up two hits, and struck out two against the Colorado Rockies.

Following him will be closer Mason Miller, T.J. McFarland, Jack Perkins, Michel Otañez, Gunnar Hoglund, and Grant Holman. This is a nice mix of big-league bullpen guys (Miller, McFarland, Otañez, Holman) and two pitchers in Perkins and Hoglund that could make their debuts this season.