The Athletics' rotation is going to come into clearer focus in the next week or so, with Luis Severino's decision about his $22 million player option having a deadline of five days after the World Series concludes. The Milwaukee Brewers lead the Tampa Bay Rays three games to one, so that clock could start ticking soon.
The A's front office has said they want Severino to return to the club, and he would certainly provide a boost to the overall outlook of the rotation if he did. The veteran right-hander has been a roughly league-average arm since joining the club, but given the extreme run environment the A's play in, league average is impressive.
Following the breakout of J.T. Ginn in 2026, along with the arrival of Gage Jump, Severino wouldn't be needed as the No. 1 starter on the roster. Ginn could take opening day, while Severino takes that second start, followed by Jump. Without Severino, the odds of the rotation going from Ginn (3.71 ERA but a 4.38 FIP) to Jump as the No. 2 starter are fairly high.
While Jump has tremendous talent and should be seen as a potential ace of the future, heaping those expectations upon him in his first full big league season while playing in Sacramento isn't the best path forward for success.
Here is a look at the A's projected rotation with Severino:
No. 1 — Ginn
No. 2 — Severino
No. 3 — Jump
No. 4 — Jacob Lopez
No. 5 — Jack Perkins
These are the arms that spent most of the second half in the rotation, outside of Severino, who was injured. Slotting him back into the rotation while hopefully taking advantage of the strides both Lopez and Perkins took in the second half fills out the rotation nicely.
There is even the possibility of acquiring another starting pitcher and then pushing Perkins to the bullpen or making him the next option up in the minor leagues.
For the A's to be better in 2027, the whole club's depth has to improve. The starting five listed above is a nice rotation with some upside if Ginn stays consistent while Jump, Lopez, and Perkins take steps forward. That's a lot that would have to go right.
But adding another arm to the mix and shaking up that starting five immediately provides the club with depth. Plus, No. 3 prospect Jamie Arnold will likely be ready to join the A's at some point during the 2027 campaign, so he'd give them a seventh option.
Where this gets tricky is if Severino decides to decline his player option and test the free agent market. All of a sudden you need Jump, Lopez, and Perkins to slide up a spot while looking for a fifth arm to fit into the rotation mix. Instead of depth, you're looking for competence.
On the other hand, in addition to Severino's $22 million, the A's are likely to decline the club options on Jeff McNeil ($15.75 million) and Jeffrey Springs ($15 million), which would give the front office some funds that could be used to acquire a couple of arms. The hard part is convincing free agents to choose Sacramento.
Of course, the A's could also go the trade route, but new president of baseball operations Taylor Smith will be learning the organization and the farm system, so making a trade for a difference-making rotation arm would come with some risk if Smith just starts trading prospects.
Figuring out how to accumulate that depth is going to be Smith's first real challenge in his new role, and it could determine the fate of the A's season in 2027.