San Francisco Giants Could Acquire A's Jeffrey Springs for this Trade Package

The Athletics will not reach the goals they set out for themselves this season, which was to achieve an 81-81 record and gear up to compete in 2026. Now, they might trade away a handful of players at the 2025 trade deadline and reposition themselves.

On the offensive side of things, the A's have one of, if not the, most exciting cores in baseball. A core led by AL Rookie of the Year contenders Jacob Wilson and Nick Kurtz will only get better with more big league exposure. The offense is more than capable of supporting a .500 or better team, but the pitching is where the A's need to put all their focus.

The mindset going into the deadline is addition by subtraction. The A's may trade away three pitchers: Luis Severino, J.P. Sears, and Jeffrey Springs. Trading away veteran arms who haven't pitched well in the A's first season in West Sacramento and do not line up with their timeline anymore, in favor of younger arms and pitching prospects, is likely how the A's go about doing business this deadline.

Which leads us to the San Francisco Giants, the old neighbor across the bay. The Giants currently hold a 54-49 record and are third in the NL West. They have been searching for better performance from the backend of their rotation all season, but have not found a solution, and just this week had to option Hayden Birdsong to Sacramento.

Justin Verlander has regressed a lot in his age-42 season, Hayden Birdsong may not be a starter at the MLB level, and Kyle Harrison was traded away as part of the return for Rafael Devers.

Insert Jeffrey Springs, who has been the A's best pitcher since May. In 15 appearances since May 1st, Springs holds a 3.57 ERA with 63 strikeouts in 85 2/3 innings. He has allowed 71 hits and 22 walks in the span. The veteran lefty has a very team-friendly contract, $10.5 million owed in 2026, and a $15,000,000 club option in 2027, which may make him even more appealing to the Buster Posey-run Giants.

The Giants' top pitching prospect, lefty Carson Whisenhunt, who has over 200 innings at the Triple-A level, may not be ready yet. Posey said recently that Whisenhunt is working on his fastball command right now.

Adding Springs, a veteran lefty with a team-friendly contract, would upgrade the Giants' rotation and allow them to be patient with Whisenhunt. With that being said, what would a trade package for Springs look like?

A hypothetical deal for Springs would include three prospects. The first would be Giants No. 12 prospect, left-hander Joe Whitman. Whitman was the 69th pick in the 2023 draft and is currently with Double-A Richmond.

In a little over 71 innings this season, Whitman holds a 5.15 ERA with 78 strikeouts and 29 walks. There is still a decent amount of development that needs to happen for the 23-year-old, but in an A's system known for developing talent, he could live up to expectations with his two-plus pitches.

The second piece would be Giants No. 5 prospect, outfielder Bo Davidson, who would arguably be the centerpiece of the deal. The 23-year-old was recently promoted to Double-A Richmond, but in High-A Eugene, he slashed .309 with a .919 OPS, 30 extra base hits, and 49 walks in 72 games.

Davidson was signed by the Giants in 2023 and has performed since debuting with the organization. The A's have a bit of a log jam in the outfield between the major league team and Triple-A Las Vegas, but could use some more depth in the lower minors. Davidson has 11 homers and 13 stolen bases this season.

The final piece of the trade would be Giants No. 14 prospect, right-hander Trevor McDonald. McDonald debuted with the Giants last season, very briefly, rack up only three innings, but was good between four levels of the minors last season. What might interest the A's the most about McDonald is his 55.6% ground ball rate in Triple-A this season.

Adding those three prospects would deepen the A's farm system in areas of need, while repositioning themselves for a 2026 or 2027 contention year.

For the Giants, Springs would be their No. 4 starter behind Logan Webb, Robbie Ray, and Landen Roupp. In a highly competitive NL West, this potential Giants rotation could propel them to a Wild Card berth, which would be their first playoff appearance since 2021. The A's could also be talked into moving a depth bat of their own, perhaps Miguel Andujar or JJ Bleday, if needed.

It is becoming increasingly likely that the A's will become major players at the trade deadline in about a week, which could provide them with a substantial amount of prospects and reposition their sights to contend in one of the following two seasons.