WEST SACRAMENTO - Jeffrey Springs’ final turn of the season came with the kind of stakes that now hang over his future with the Athletics.
On Wednesday night, as the 34-year-old left-hander took the mound for what could be his last start in green and gold, A’s manager Mark Kotsay was clear about what he wanted to see.
“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.”
Springs didn’t deliver a signature outing, but he did help the A’s leave with a 7-3 win over the Angels at Sutter Health Park. He held Los Angeles to three runs on five hits and one walk while striking out three over 4 1/3 innings.
What happens next is the real question.
Springs’ deal includes a $15 million club option for 2027 and a $750,000 opt-out clause, and his case has become a straightforward one on the surface. His 6.19 ERA is the worst in MLB among pitchers with at least 140 innings, and his 35 home runs allowed rank second most.
Springs wasn’t trying to hide from that reality after the game.
“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.”
Still, there are layers to the decision beyond the numbers from this season. Springs was much better in 2025, when he posted a 4.11 ERA in 32 games, 30 of them starts, with 138 strikeouts and 54 walks across 171 innings. He also dealt with a hip issue for much of the second half, which clouds a year that clearly fell short of expectations.
The bigger picture includes what he’s done since arriving in a trade with the Rays in December 2024. Springs has been on the ball for the A’s, appearing in 61 games, 59 of them starts, over the last two seasons. Kotsay made sure that part of the story was not lost in the conversation about a rough 2026 campaign.
“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.”
The A’s also have to weigh the possibility that Luis Severino, who has a $22 million player option for 2027, could depart for free agency. If that happens, the club could be looking at a rotation picture without any starters on the current roster who have more than one full year of big league experience.
That would likely force the A’s to chase veteran help through free agency or trade.
Even then, a clean break with Springs is not guaranteed. If the A’s decline the option, a reunion would still be possible if both sides want to keep talking.
“We’ll see,” Springs said. “Hopefully, we can play well these final games of the season, and then I’ll think about that.”
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