Athletics trade Boyle, others for Springs in deal with Rays

Athletics trade Boyle, others for Springs in deal with Rays originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Athletics are staying busy this offseason.

The team acquired left-handed pitcher Jeffrey Springs and Jacob Lopez from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for right-handed pitchers Joe Boyle and Jacob Watters, infielder Will Simpson, and the 2025 competitive balance round A pick.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the news Saturday morning, and the Athletics made the move official shortly after.

Springs enters his eighth MLB season after spending the last seven seasons with the Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox, and Tampa Bay Rays.

Springs joined the Rays after being acquired from the Boston Red Sox in 2021. It didn’t take long for him to establish himself as a solid reliever with high strikeout numbers. Tampa Bay eventually moved him into their starting rotation, where he enjoyed a career year in 2022 as he accrued 3.1 fWAR and was rewarded with a four-year, $31 million contract extension.

Springs often has looked like a potential Cy Young Award candidate — when healthy. Coming off a breakout campaign in 2022 (2.46 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 144 strikeouts in 135 innings), Springs made just three starts before suffering a season-ending elbow injury in 2023.

He threw just 16 innings that year before the injury resulted in Tommy John surgery, sidelining him for the rest of the season. The Rays shut him down in September of the 2024 season, placing him on the IL due to elbow fatigue.

Springs will make $10.5 million in 2026 and has a team option for $15 million in 2027.

Lopez originally was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in 2018 before being traded to Tampa Bay in 2019. Across five minor league seasons, he is 16-17 with a 2.99 ERA, 425 strikeouts and 136 walks. He missed the entire 2022 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.