Former Red Sox, Rays Pitcher Hoping A's Can Shock People

The Athletics front office has been busy this offseason, particularly in adding two veteran starters to the rotation. First, they signed Luis Severino to a three year, $67 million contract. Then they went out and traded for former Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Jeffrey Springs, giving the A's a nice one-two punch at the top of the starting five.

Martín Gallegos of MLB.com recently spoke with Springs about the trade from Tampa to Sacramento, and the left-hander appears to be buying into his new club's chances in 2025.

""They went on a run at the end,” Springs said. “Tough team to pitch against. They do several different things on the basepaths and hit for power. A lot of young, really good arms. … When you’re the unknown, so to speak, you can really shock people. I’m hoping that we can go on a really good run.”"

Springs' start against the A's came in Oakland, and was the shortest of his condensed season. The lefty lasted just 3.1 innings, giving up seven hits and three earned runs, walking two and striking out three.

To Springs' point, the A's are currently an unknown quantity as camp gets underway. Baseball Prospectus has them projected for 70.7 wins this season, while FanGraphs has them pegged for a 76-86 campaign.

Last season the A's finished at 69-93, so a 71-win season would be seen as a bit of a disappointment, given the clubhouse's desire to win closer to 81 games. A 76-win season would be a win in some regards, but it's still not quite where the club hopes to be when the dust settles.

There are two reasons why the A's could be a .500 club or better this coming season, and we won't have an answer to either factor for months.

The first is the A's new home in West Sacramento at Sutter Health Park, the home of the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats. We just don't know how that park will play with big-league hitters stepping into the box. If the ballpark decides to play like a bit of a bandbox, A's pitchers may have a hard time limiting damage, which could lead to some struggles.

Then again, the park may be a huge benefit to the A's, since it'll be their home. Former A's starter Ross Stripling talked to A's on SI about his time with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2020-21, when the team was forced to play in a minor-league park due to Covid restrictions. He said that the home team was treated great, but opposing clubs hated going there, and that was an advantage for them.

We'll have to see if the same rings true in 2025.

The second reason is that the AL West is completely wide open as we approach the 2025 campaign. The Texas Rangers are projected for 85 wins, while the Seattle Mariners and Houston Astros are projected for 84. That's not too far off from the 81-81 season the A's are eyeing, and if it's close late in the season, a couple of big wins against one of those teams could swing the division towards Sacramento.

Is anyone necessarily expecting the A's to win the AL West? Not really. But they have a young team of unproven players, and sometimes those teams can be dangerous. When the 2012 A's ended up winning the division, they did so with a number of rookies. That list included Sean Doolittle, Jarrod Parker, Yoenis Céspedes, Josh Donaldson, Ryan Cook, and a slew of others that were key contributors at the right time.

This 2025 A's team certainly has some of that same sort of feel. If things break a little bit their way, the A's could end up shocking some folks.