After rocky season, Springs unsure what future holds with A's

This story was excerpted from Martín Gallegos’ Athletics Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

WEST SACRAMENTO – As Jeffrey Springs took the mound for one final start on Wednesday night in what has been the worst season of his nine-year Major League career, Athletics manager Mark Kotsay only had one desire for the 34-year-old left-hander.

“If it is his last start for us,” Kotsay said. “I’m hoping he goes out and has one of the best starts of his career.”

It wasn’t his greatest outing, but Springs at least contributed positively to a 7-3 victory over the Angels at Sutter Health Park by limiting the Halos to three runs on five hits and one walk with three strikeouts across 4 1/3 innings.

Now comes decision time for the A’s with Springs. His contract contains a $15 million club option for 2027, along with a $750,000 opt-out clause. Speaking about his future on Wednesday night, Springs was realistic about the position he’s in with his contract status as he heads into the offseason. His 6.19 ERA is the worst in MLB among pitchers with at least 140 innings, while his 35 home runs allowed are the second most.

“I understand how I pitched this year,” Springs said. “That’s obviously up to the front office. It’s their decision. I’ve played long enough that I understand how these things work. I didn’t put myself in a very good position, and that’s unfortunate. It is what it is. So, we’ll see. … Ultimately, I didn’t pitch well enough. I understand it’s a business.”

On the surface, opting to exercise the $750,000 buyout rather than sign on for one more year with Springs at $15 million seems like an easy decision. There are some other factors to consider, though.

Last year, Springs was much better for the A’s, posting a 4.11 ERA in 32 games (30 starts) with 138 strikeouts and 54 walks in 171 innings. No question this was a down year, but those 2025 numbers show there might still be a solid big league starter there with some tweaks and a return to full health, as Springs also battled a hip issue for most of the second half.

At the very least, Springs has proven to be durable in his A’s tenure. Acquired in a trade with the Rays in December 2024, Springs appeared in 61 games (59 starts) for the A’s over the past two years, something Kotsay made sure to acknowledge Wednesday.

“The one thing that has always been consistent is that he takes the ball and goes out and wants to pitch,” Kotsay said. “Obviously this year has been a challenge. Probably one of the more difficult ones for him, personally. To have a level of expectation and not meet that expectation is definitely hard. I know he feels personally responsible for some of the lack of success that we’ve had this season.

“To his credit, he’s taken that accountability. It’s not for lack of effort. It’s not for time spent on trying to make adjustments. Sometimes that’s baseball, and the year you never want to have, especially with where Jeffrey is in his career and his contract. But those things are out of your control. … What Jeff has done for us is taken the ball for the last two seasons, gone out and posted and been professional in every way.”

Another factor to consider here is that Luis Severino -- who has a $22 million player option for 2027 -- could leave for free agency, as well. Severino and Springs may not have performed up to expectations with the A’s, but those were still two key veterans, and losing both would leave the club without any starters on the current roster with much more than one full year of big league experience. This would leave them likely to bring in another veteran arm or two either through free agency or trade.

Even if the A’s decline Springs’ club option, a reunion may not be out of the question if both sides are open to it.

“We’ll see,” Springs said. “Hopefully, we can play well these final games of the season, and then I’ll think about that.”