The Under-the-Radar Twins Pitcher the A's Need to Target This Winter

The Athletics pitching staff wasn't nearly as bad as many fans would believe, based off of their cumulative season stats. But at the same time, they could use a couple of fresh faces to provide different looks as the team continues to find the right mix of guys to field a competitive squad in 2026.

The Minnesota Twins have a 26-year-old right-hander that may not jump off the page with his velocity, but with ABS coming into play in 2026, Pierson Ohl could be a sneaky-good addition to a postseason hopeful lke the Athletics. He's not a top prospect, and hasn't even listed on the Twins' top-30. That doesn't mean he can't be effective.

Ohl was selected by the Twins in the 14th round of the 2021 MLB Draft, and he ended up making his big-league debut in 2025 against the Boston Red Sox in late July. He pitched primarily out of the bullpen as a bulk guy, making a total of 14 appearances (3 starts) and racked up 30 innings pitched and a 5.10 ERA.

That ERA could be cleaned up a bit with some luck. His left on base rate in his brief time in the big leagues was 60.5%, while it sat at 77.8% in the minors this year. That helped lead him to a 4.20 ERA, which is a much better looking starting point to work with.

Obviously, the actual ERA is trending in the wrong direction from where the A's are hoping to be headed, but the fact that he held just a 5.3% walk rate is impressive. There could also be some development left for him, especially as a bullpen piece, since he'd primarily been a starter in his previous four seasons in the minors.

When he made it to the big leagues, he had a six-pitch arsenal, including a changeup and four-seamer which are his two primary options, as well as a cutter, a curveball, a sinker, and a knuckleball. If he's pitching out of the bullpen, he needs three to four of those pitches.

He's not a hard thrower and tends to live in the zone a little, so that could present a bit of a problem. That said, there should be a pitch mix that could max out his effectiveness at the big league level, and the A's have had success with this in the past.

As a strike thrower that can eat multiple innings, he could be in the same realm out of the bullpen as right-handers Mitch Spence and Osvaldo Bido this previous season. The A's would be sacrificing a little stuff for control if they were to make that switch, but with the implementation of ABS, that could be a switch worth making.

He averaged 91.9 miles per hour with his four-seamer this season with the Twins, but his changeup had a 32% whiff rate. While that wouldn't rank him at the top of the leaderboard, he'd still have a top-20 change with more innings pitched. Jeffrey Springs' change ranked fifth in whiff rate this season at 41.3%, so perhaps there could be some development just from being around the lefty.

Ohl also went to Grand Canyon University, which is the same college that Jacob Wilson attended. In the 2025 MLB Draft, the A's selected 21-year-old Grant Richardson out of GCU in the sixth round, giving Wilson yet another former teammate, in addition to Max Muncy, in the organization.

After the draft, we jokingly asked Wilson if there should be anybody from tee ball that we should be on the lookout for as the A's next addition. Turns out, we could have just looked to the Twins for an arm that could make a lot of sense for the A's in 2026 and beyond.

Pierson Ohl is still a work in progress, but the cost of acquisition wouldn't be terribly high. If a team like the A's would be willing to provide them with a piece that could help their rebuild, it could make sense for Minnesota to consider making a deal. This move would be a bit of a shot in the dark but it's one worth making.