Jeffrey Springs Points to Key Factor For A's Success in 2026

After struggling in the first month of the season, Springs was exactly the pitcher the A's needed

Aug 11, 2025; West Sacramento, California, USA; Athletics pitcher Jeffrey Springs (59) reacts to a call during the first inning of the game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images | Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images

When last season ended, A's left-hander Jeffrey Springs talked to us about his entire season, and some of the challenges that went into pitching in a minor-league ballpark in Sacramento, which was a complete unknown for the southpaw and his teammates when the season began.

This year, he's feeling more ready to tackle that challenge, as he told A's Cast recently.

"The unknowns, you know there's a little bit of uncomfortable things you have to adjust to and get used to. The more comfortable I feel like we can be, as players, the better success you're going to have. You're going to be able to perform better.

"And just as a group, I think us knowing how the ballpark plays, what to expect, it's going to help us tremendously. Just from the jump everybody having an idea of kind of what we're going into.

That is going to be an underrated piece and a key factor of the upcoming season for the A's, being that they're now familiar with how the ballpark plays, what the expectations are, and perhaps some tricks for how to get their adrenaline going in a minor league park.

Springs started off slowly last season after a stellar first start against the Seattle Mariners in which he went six scoreless innings and gave up just three hits, striking out nine. In April he went 2-3 with a 7.66 ERA, giving up at least three runs each time out, with three of those five outings coming at home.

He settled down in May, and continued that through the end of the season, posting a 3.72 ERA (4.54 FIP) from May 1 onward. If he's able to match roughly that production over the course of a full season, then the A's would certainly be in business after he posted a 4.11 ERA over the full season.

That's not even mentioning any adjustments he makes, or being another year removed from surgery, which could lead to better results as well. Springs also talked about his mindset and his goals entering the 2026 campaign.

"I mean, the goal is, you see some of the best in the game are throwing 180, pushing 200 innings. And that's what you shoot for. That's what you want to do, especially as a starter. We take a lot of pride in taking the ball every five days and being able to pitch into the sixth, seventh inning every time.

"So I'm looking to just build off of what I did last year, and then just better quality outings, not struggling for a month and a half or whatever it was. Eliminating the bad ones—they're going to happen. It is what it is, but being able to bounce back and be a lot more consistent than I was last year."

Springs made his spring debut on Friday against the Kansas City Royals, and went 1 2/3 innings, giving up three hits and a pair of walks that led to four runs allowed. After a scoreless first inning, Springs started the second with a single and two walks allowed. One run scored on a ground out, but with two away, Bobby Witt Jr. cranked a three-run homer that knocked Springs from his start.

While the results weren't what he was hoping for, the mindset sure looks to be in the right space entering year two in Sacramento. That could lead to one of the biggest question marks for the A's entering 2026—the starting rotation—performing better than expected.

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