A's to Face SF Giants Offseason Addition in Spring Debut
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After a breakout season with the Texas Rangers in 2025, we wrote that the A's should be wary of right-hander Tyler Mahle in free agency. Last season he held a 2.18 ERA (3.37 FIP) across 86 2/3 innings of work, including 16 starts with Texas, which was a career year for the 31-year-old.
One of the reasons we expressed concern over a potential deal with the A's was that his BABIP in that career year was just .260, well below the league average of .289. Another concern was that his home run rate was extremely low at 4.9%, which didn't look like it would stay intact while potentially pitching in Sacramento. In San Francisco, there's a chance.
This offseason he ended up signing a one-year, $10 million deal with San Francisco, which is also less than the $17 million projected contract that was forecast earlier in the offseason. On Saturday, he'll be making his spring debut against an A's club that has started swinging the bats a little better of late.
This will also be the final time that the A's and Giants face each other this spring, before we even hit March. Here are the rest of the pitching probables for both clubs.
A's sending out rotation hopeful
Luis Morales is going to kick things off for the A's on Saturday, and he is considered one of the favorites to land one of the final two spots in the rotation. The other favorite is being held out of games for another week or so, which will put his availability for Opening Day in question.
Morales made his MLB debut last season at the age of 22, and posted a 3.14 ERA (4.68 FIP) in 48 2/3 innings spanning 10 appearances with the A's. In his first outing of camp he went two innings, gave up two hits and one earned run, striking out one against the Cleveland Guardians.
In that outing he also came on out of the bullpen, and his velocity was down quite a bit from last season. On Saturday we should get a sense if that was a bad radar gun, him coming out of the bullpen instead of starting, or perhaps a mix of both.
Following Morales will be an interesting mix of young arms looking to prove themselves and veteran relievers, with RHP Henry Baez, RHP Braden Nett, RHP Scott Barlow, RHP Tyler Ferguson, LHP Hogan Harris, RHP Justin Sterner, RHP Eduarniel Nuñez, RHP Kade Morris, LHP Domingo Robles and LHP Matt Krook scheduled in some order.
The A's will be trimming their roster again in the coming days—presumably Sunday if tradition holds—which could mean that some of these arms will be facing their last chance to make an impression on the A's coaching staff. That said, with the World Baseball Classic, there will be more opportunities to be had this spring, with 12 A's players joining their countries for the WBC.
Barlow, Ferguson, Harris and Sterner are all expected to be members of the A's Opening Day bullpen. Baez and Nett both came over in the Mason Miller/JP Sears trade, and are among the A's top-10 prospects according to MLB Pipeline. Kade Morris (No. 14) and Eduarniel Nuñez (No. 15) are also highly touted members of the farm system, with Nuñez also coming over in the Miller deal.
Domingo Robles signed with the A's as a minor-league free agent following the 2023 campaign, and the 27-year-old left-hander spent most of last season in Double-A Midland, holding a 4.78 ERA in 32 innings. He allowed two runs (one earned) in his 1 2/3 innings this spring. His pitch mix is interesting, consisting of a 90.8 mph sinker, a slider (86.1), a curveball (77.4) and a changeup (82.5).
Matt Krook was actually drafted by the Giants in the fourth round of the 2016 MLB Draft, and ended up signing a minor-league deal with the A's last winter. He had a brief stint with the big-league club, even pitching at Oracle Park, but was designated for assignment at the end of May. He re-signed with the A's as a minor-league free agent this winter.
Mahle's Giants debut
Beyond Mahle on Saturday, the Giants are expected to throw out RHP Trevor McDonald, RHP José Butto, RHP Ryan Walker, RHP Keaton Winn, RHP Michael Fulmer and RHP Will Bednar.
While closer Ryan Walker is arguably the toughest of the bunch to face, former first rounder Will Bednar is a non-roster invite that could be due for an interesting campaign. He held an incredibly high BABIP last season, leading to his ERA (5.68) being much higher than his FIP (3.18). He made a brief stop in Triple-A Sacramento last season, but will be looking for a spot on the 40-man this season.
Michael Fulmer is the former AL Rookie of the Year (2016), but is now a relief pitcher on a minor-league deal. In each of the seasons he's been healthy since that debut year, he's been in the big leagues, missing both 2019 and 2024 due to injury. Last year with the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox, Fulmer held a 4.76 ERA across just 5 2/3 innings.
Buttó was part return in the Tyler Rogers trade last season, that also landed Drew Gilbert and Blade Tidwell landing with San Francisco. Buttó has zero options remaining, meaning that the 27-year-old has to be on the Giants 26-man roster or be subject to waivers. He holds a career 3.56 ERA across parts of for seasons.
McDonald and Winn are both on San Francisco's 40-man roster, though neither is projected to start on the team's Opening Day roster according to Roster Resource. McDonald's lone appearance this spring came in their first matchup with the A's. He tossed one inning, hit a batter (Junior Perez), and struck out two.
Winn, 28, has spent time with the Giants in each of the past three seasons, putting up a 5.93 ERA (4.51 FIP) across 107 2/3 innings of work. His command, particularly of his splitter and his fastball, has been solid for him in the big leagues, though the split is the only one that grades out with above average "stuff." This is his final option season.
First pitch from Mesa is scheduled for 12:05 p.m. (PT). There is no TV broadcast, but you can listen to it on A's Cast, Talk 650 KSTE or KNBR 104.5 FM.
Jason has been covering the A’s at various sites for over a decade, and was the original host of the Locked on A’s podcast. He also covers the Stanford Cardinal as they attempt to rebuild numerous programs to prominence.
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