The Athletics are moving on from two veterans after declining club options on left-hander Jeffrey Springs and infielder/outfielder Jeff McNeil, sending both players into free agency.
The calls weren’t exactly dramatic. Springs and McNeil are both 34, and both were coming off seasons that didn’t give the A’s much reason to pay up for another year.
Springs, whom Oakland acquired from the Rays in December of 2024, was brought in to steady a young rotation. At that point, the A’s had already signed Luis Severino and added Springs with the idea of giving the staff some veteran backbone.
His first year in green and gold was decent enough. Springs worked 171 innings and finished with a 4.11 ERA, a solid showing in a hitter-friendly minor league park.
The strikeout rate, 19.4%, was nothing special, but the 7.6% walk rate was a positive. He also benefited from a .255 batting average on balls in play.
Everything shifted in 2026. His BABIP moved up closer to normal at .278, his strikeout rate dipped to 17.8%, and his walk rate climbed to 9%.
Sutter Health Park became a bigger problem, and so did the long ball. Springs gave up 35 homers overall, including 23 at home.
That was seven more than the year before, even though he pitched almost 30 fewer innings. The result was a 6.18 ERA.
Springs had previously signed an extension with the Rays, a deal that ran through 2026 and included a $15MM club option for 2027. With a $750K buyout, the A’s were looking at a $14.25MM decision.
Given the price tag and the ugly ERA, they passed. Springs now heads back to the open market, where he’ll try to find a better landing spot.
Oakland’s rotation picture remains unsettled. The A’s are projected to line up with Severino, J.T.
Ginn, Gage Jump, Jacob Lopez and Luis Medina, which isn’t a group with much proven depth. They’ve also had a hard time luring free-agent pitchers because of their current home park, so a trade-market move may be the likelier path.
McNeil is also out the door after a season that didn’t deliver much impact. Oakland picked him up from the Mets in December of last year, planning to use his versatility to cover second base, third base and the outfield while the club sorted out its infield mix.
In practice, he wound up spending most of his time at second. McNeil made 88 starts there and played in 104 games overall, but the bat never really showed up. He hit .264/.313/.368, production that came out to an 83 wRC+, or 17% below league average.
Like Springs, McNeil came with an extension already in place from his previous team. His deal also ran through 2026 and carried a 2027 club option valued at $15.75MM, with a $2MM buyout.
As part of the trade from New York, the Mets agreed to cover that buyout if the option was declined, which suggests the A’s may not have viewed McNeil as a long-term piece anyway. His uneven season only reinforced that.
Now McNeil is free to look elsewhere for his next opportunity. He turns 35 in April, his offense has sat below average for most of the past four seasons, and his defense at second base didn’t rate well this year either. Major league interest could be limited.
Second base remains open for Oakland in the short term. Long term, shortstop Jacob Wilson could shift there once Leo De Vries arrives at short, though De Vries is only 20, has not yet reached Triple-A, and recently had shoulder surgery that is expected to keep him out until the middle of the 2027 season. For now, the A’s could turn to someone internal such as Joshua Kuroda-Grauer, or they could shop for a placeholder like McNeil, Jonathan India, Gavin Lux or Isiah Kiner-Falefa.
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