Athletics Closer Option To Make Start Against Houston
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This spring, there were lots of conversations on who the A's closer would be for this season. Mark Leiter Jr., Elvis Alvarado, and Jack Perkins were the main options that looked like they'd get shots at being the closer.
Early struggles for Elvis Alvarado led to him being demoted early on, and Mark Leiter Jr. also had his share of rough outings. This led to Jack Perkins and Joel Kuhnel getting leverage outings out of the bullpen for the A's.
The A's rotation has taken some huge hits over the last few weeks, with Aaron Civale and, most recently, Luis Severino to the Injured List.
Left-hander Jacob Lopez was also removed from the rotation as he was demoted to Triple-A Las Vegas.
Recent Bullpen Struggles for Jack Perkins
Although Perkins was seen as a high-leverage arm for the Green and Gold out of the bullpen, he hasn't been so hot recently. In Perkins' last seven appearances, he's posted a brutal ERA of 7.11. It appears the club will be stretching him out as a starter, even after his cold stretch in the bullpen.
Interestingly, Jack Perkins has been quite successful in day games. A 1.93 ERA in 9.1 innings. Unfortunately, Friday night is the only night game the A's will play against the Astros, but those numbers are very different from his 7.23 ERA in night games.
Regardless of recent performance, Perkins has been a solid piece of the A's bullpen all season. He held a strong 2.70 ERA in April, then followed it up with a tough month in May.
A’s reliever Jack Perkins will be moved into their rotation to make his first start of the season against the Houston Astros on Friday night.
— Dylan Quinn (@dylanq_2) June 4, 2026
This means one of Mason Barnett and Kade Morris will be in the rotation, and one will be in the bullpen. #Athletics
Perkins has some starting experience and will now be stretched out to make some starts for the injured A's rotation. He'll join the newly settled-in Gage Jump, J.T. Ginn, Jeffrey Springs, and one of Kade Morris/Mason Barnett in the current rotation after his struggles in the pen.
Jack Perkins as a Starter in 2025
This will not be the first time we've seen Jack Perkins make some starts for the A's, as he made four starts for them last season. He posted a 3-1 record as a starter last year and posted an ERA of 5.68.
He actually was better in the bullpen with the team last season, as he posted a 2.75 ERA in 19.2 innings of relief.
Altogether, he posted an ERA of 4.19 last season in 38.2 total innings. It was a good first taste of Major League Baseball for Perkins, and now he'll get another shot at being a starting pitcher.
Do not let the 5.46 ERA fool you, Jack Perkins is still a huge part of the A’s future. I’m excited to see him get some consistent run in the rotation pic.twitter.com/e3G8S7JirS
— Straight A’s (@StraightAs123) June 4, 2026
Another interesting stat for Perkins, last season he posted an away ERA of 2.42. The A's home at Sutter Health Park is usually known for being more of a hitter-friendly site, which would make sense why Perkins pitched better away from there.
Funny enough, he also pitched better during day games last year, posting a 3.31 ERA in 16.1 innings under the sun.
Even though it's been a tough year for Perkins in 2026, he has some experience making starts for the team. While this might not be his long-term role, it'll be interesting to see how he manages the job.
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Dylan Quinn grew up playing baseball, and also enjoyed watching and writing about his favorite team, the A’s. Being a diehard A’s fan from New Jersey is certainly not common, but he loves the team and all of the current and former players so much. Quinn currently attends school at Penn State Scranton where he plays baseball.
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