The A’s made significant (at least by their standards) efforts to field a more competitive team last year. With talented youngsters in the majors and coming up from the minors, the club augmented the pitching staff with moves to add players like Luis Severino, Jeffrey Springs, and Jose Leclerc to the fold. Those moves, generally speaking, did not work out especially well and a brutal first half helped lead to the team trading Mason Miller to San Diego. Losing Miller from the team’s core is a massive blow, but that didn’t stop the team’s young hitters (particularly Nick Kurtz, Tyler Soderstrom, and Jacob Wilson) from joining Brent Rooker to fill out the bones of a legitimate lineup down the stretch and keep the Athletics relevant ahead of their second year in Sacramento.
That’s led to an offseason that’s seen a bit more action, highlighted by the team’s successful trade for Jeff McNeil and a failed pursuit of Nolan Arenado. That the front office was willing to not only trade for Arenado, but take on more of his remaining contract than the Diamondbacks did, suggests at least some financial flexibility to make further additions. They’ve also remained active on the extension front, signing Soderstrom and Wilson to the two largest contracts in franchise history.
With the lineup looking as strong as it is, that would make the starting rotation a logical place to add. A’s starters were bottom four in the majors last year in terms of ERA, and their 4.93 FIP bested only Colorado. Their 808 1/3 innings from the rotation was also the sixth-fewest among MLB teams. Without Miller to help shoulder the load in the bullpen, improving the rotation seems like an obvious call for the team as they look to fight their way back into competitive relevance.
With that said, adding to the rotation could be easier said than done. Players have been generally hesitant to join the A’s given their ballpark situation. Sutter Health Park isn’t exactly major league caliber in the eyes of many MLB players, and if given the choice many would surely prefer playing elsewhere. What’s more, pitchers in particular might be hesitant to play there given how hitter-friendly the park played last year. Sutter Health’s Park Factor, according to Statcast, made it the second-most hitter friendly park in MLB last year behind Coors Field, with a substantial lead over third place (Comerica Park in Detroit). Between those challenges, lesser amenities as compared to most MLB ballparks, and the team’s uncertain ability to compete in a crowded AL West, pitchers might be hesitant about heading to Sacramento.
Fortunately, the A’s do have one thing benefiting them up their sleeve, and that’s the volume of starters still looking for teams. Framber Valdez, Zac Gallen, Lucas Giolito, Chris Bassitt, Justin Verlander, and Nick Martinez are among the biggest names left on the market, but there’s plenty of depth behind that group. Tomoyuki Sugano, Tyler Anderson, Jose Quintana, Marcus Stroman, and Patrick Corbin could be solid (if unspectacular) veteran innings eaters, while players like Walker Buehler, Jordan Montgomery, and German Marquez have shown real upside in the past and will be looking for the opportunity to bounce back this winter. (Montgomery is probably out until midseason after undergoing Tommy John surgery last March.) While some of those players might balk at the idea of pitching for the A’s, Spring Training is just a couple of weeks away and at least some of those players are surely hoping to avoid being caught without a team when pitchers and catchers report.
The A’s have not been publicly connected to the starting pitching market much this season. They’ve long been known to focus on trades rather than free agency due to the difficulties associated with selling free agents on joining the team, and most reporting about their trade pursuits has focused on the positional side of things. It’s possible the A’s are high enough on internal starting pitching options like Gunnar Hoglund, Henry Baez, Jacob Lopez, and Luis Medina that they aren’t willing to sacrifice the opportunity to give those young players a shot in order to bring in more proven talents with less upside. While adding to the rotation would surely help the team better contend in 2026, it’s not exactly a secret that the A’s main priority at this point is positioning themselves to do as well as they possibly can upon arriving in Las Vegas in 2028. Perhaps giving time to younger arms is the best way to accomplish that goal.
What do MLBTR readers think the A’s will end up doing? Will they manage to pull off a meaningful rotation addition? Or will they mostly head into Opening Day with the same group of young arms (plus Severino and Springs) that they have now? Have your say in the poll blow:
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