Mitch lives in Fuquay-Varina, N.C. with his wife, Courtney, and their chocolate lab, Griswold...With Kansas City, Spence reunites with Assistant Pitching Coach Mike McFerran, who was with the A’s organization from 2024-25 and Lucas Erceg, who he was teammates with in Oakland to begin 2024...He graduated in 2016 from Green Hope High School in North Carolina...Attended the University of South Carolina-Aiken and in three seasons with the Pacers, he went 17-10 with two saves and a 3.83 ERA in 47 outings (28 starts).
2025
Made the A’s Opening Day roster for the second straight year in 2025 and began the season in the bullpen, making his first 22 appearances in relief...Recorded his first career save with 3.0 scoreless innings in the A’s 12-3 win at the White Sox on April 15...Moved to the starting rotation on June 5 and in his first three starts, went 1-0 with a 1.20 ERA (2 ER in 15.0 IP)…in his next four starts, he went 0-4 with a 7.84 ERA (18 ER in 20.2 IP) and was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas on July 10...Issued one walk or fewer in six of his eight starts with the A’s...Allowed 16 HR in 84.2 innings with the A’s and half of them (8) came in back-to-back outings on July 2 and July 9, after which he was optioned…in his other 30 appearances, he allowed eight HR in 73.2 innings...Made eight appearances (seven starts) with Las Vegas before returning to the A’s on Sept. 10, and ended the season with the big league club...In 16 outings (four starts) in Sacramento, he had a 6.93 ERA (29 ER in 37.2 IP)…in 16 outings (four starts) on the road, he had a 3.64 ERA (19 ER in 47.0 IP).
2024
Was selected by the A’s from the Yankees in the Rule 5 draft and spent the entire season with Oakland...Went 8-10 with a 4.58 ERA and .786 opponents OPS in 35 games, including 24 starts, in his Major League debut...Began the season in the bullpen and was 3-1 with a 4.26 ERA and .656 opponents OPS in 11 relief appearances when he was moved into the starting rotation on May 17...Went 5-9 with a 4.64 ERA and .809 OPS in his 24 starting assignments...Ranked third among Major League rookies in innings pitched (151.1), tied for sixth in wins, tied for eighth in games started and ninth in strikeouts (126)...Allowed the most hits (165), tied for second in most losses (10), ranked third in most runs (79), issued the fourth most walks (44) and tied for the fifth most home runs (20)...His 126 strikeouts ranked seventh most in Oakland history by a rookie...Averaged 2.62 walks per nine innings...Had a team-leading eight wild pitches, which tied for fifth most in the Majors among all pitchers...Averaged 70.9 pitches per game, which were the fewest in the Majors among pitchers with 150 or more innings pitched...Allowed a .276 opponents batting average, which broke down to .267 (87-for-326) with a .750 OPS against right-handed hitters and .287 (78-for-272) with an .829 OPS against lefthanders...Issued 29 of his 44 walks to righties...Opponents hit .306 with 10 of his 20 home runs with runners on base...As a starter, he had a .249 opponents batting average the first time through the order, .303 the second time and .324 the third time...Posted a 2.81 ERA in seven relief appearances in April...Then logged a 4.19 ERA or higher in each of the final five months...Compiled a 6-7 record and a 3.54 ERA in 23 night games...Was 2-3 with a 6.42 ERA in 12 games during the day...Was 4-5 with a 3.99 ERA in 17 home games, 4-5 with a 5.18 ERA in 18 road games...Surrendered 13 of his 20 home runs on the road. Stranded his only inherited runner in relief...First batters faced were 3-for-10 (.300) with a walk...Tossed at least three innings in six of his 11 relief appearances...Logged six innings or fewer in 21 of his 24 starts...Allowed a .357 batting average to the number three hitter in the order and a .371 average to the four hitter.
2023
Spent the entire season at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and went 8-8 with a 4.47 ERA and .758 opponents OPS in 29 starts. Had 163.0 innings pitched, which were the most in all of the minor leagues … ranked third in the minors in most pitches (2,564), tied for third in games started, allowed the fifth most hits (162) and tied for the sixth most home runs (30). Led the International League in games started, innings pitched and most hits, ranked second in strikeouts (153) and most runs (89), tied for second in most home runs (30), fifth in ERA and tied for ninth in wins. Also led the Yankees farm system in games started and innings pitched, while ranking fourth in strikeouts and tied for fifth in wins. Had career highs in every counting category. Allowed a .254 opponents batting average, which broke down to .235 (76-for-323) with a .702 OPS against left-handed hitters compared to .273 (86-for-315) with a .814 OPS against right-handers. Of his 30 home runs allowed, 23 were solo shots. Opponents hit .238 with runners in scoring position … they were 5-for-12 (.417) with a grand slam with the bases loaded. Went 7-0 with a 3.23 ERA and .706 opponents OPS in 14 starts at home and 1-8 with a 5.79 ERA and .808 OPS in 15 starts on the road … tied for sixth in the minors in home wins but tied for the second most road losses. Was 6-3 with a 3.86 ERA and .701 OPS in 20 night games, 2-5 with a 6.02 ERA and .888 OPS in nine day games. Was 1-3 with a 3.12 ERA in 13 starts on five days rest, 7-5 with a 5.72 ERA in his other 15 starts. Tossed at least five innings in 24 of his 29 starts, including 7.0 or more eight times. Averaged 88.4 pitches per game.
2022
Combined with Double-A Somerset and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to go 6-7 with a 4.70 ERA (130.1IP, 138H, 73R/68ER, 42BB, 127K, 17HR) in 27 games (25 starts)…ranked among Yankees farmhands in games started (tied for third) and strikeouts (sixth).
2021
Went 7-6 with a 3.94 ERA (105.0IP, 99H, 52R/46ER, 37BB, 118K, 10HR) in 23 games (20 starts) with High-A Hudson Valley…ranked second among High-A East pitchers in ERA, innings pitched and strikeouts while tying for second in games started.
2020
Did not pitch due to the COVID-19 pandemic…2019: Tied for third in the Appalachian League with four saves for Rookie-level Pulaski.
2019
Made his professional debut with Pulaski of the Appalachian League and went 2-3 with four saves and a 3.54 ERA in 16 relief appearances…tied for the third in the league in saves…struck out 29 batters in 28.0 innings and walked just four (1.29 per nine innings)…did not surrender a home run…allowed a .163 opponents batting average, which included .140 with a .322 OPS against left-handed hitters and .182 with a .533 OPS against right-handers…was 2-0 with a 1.20 ERA in nine games on the road, 0-3 with a 6.23 ERA in seven games at home…made his debut on June 26 at Princeton (1.2 ip, 2 so)…did not allow a run in six games (10.2 innings) in July as part of an 18.2-inning scoreless streak from July 5 to Aug. 17.
