Last weekend, the Oakland Athletics completed a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays, sending left-handers Jeffrey Springs and Jacob Lopez to West Sacramento in exchange for a Competitive Balance Pick and a package of prospects. Among the players heading to Tampa Bay is former Cincinnati Reds prospect Joe Boyle.
Boyle is a highly talented pitcher with significant upside, and the Rays are well-known for their ability to help players reach their potential. He regularly throws in the upper 90s, generates swings and misses, and racks up strikeouts. However, his primary issue has been inconsistent control.
In his brief MLB debut with Oakland at the end of the 2023 season, Boyle demonstrated flashes of brilliance, appearing in three games, starting two, and posting a 1.69 ERA over 16 innings. During one start, he even carried a no-hitter deep into the game.
In 2024, Boyle began the season at Triple-A Las Vegas, where he struck out 36% of batters but also walked nearly 20%. When he returned to the big leagues, his walk rate improved slightly to 17.7%, but his lack of consistency kept him from pitching deep into games. He alternated between dominant outings and games that heavily taxed the bullpen. Despite these challenges, Boyle’s raw talent makes him a valuable trade target. Oakland originally acquired him in 2023 by trading reliever Sam Moll, who has since performed well for Cincinnati with a 3.35 ERA in 2024 over 37 2/3 innings.
Although Boyle didn’t fully establish himself with the A’s, his acquisition paved the way for the Springs deal. Boyle’s potential floor appears to be as a solid late-inning reliever, while his ceiling remains enticingly high.
The deal with Tampa Bay also included two additional prospects: 2023 15th-round pick Will Simpson and 2022 fourth-round pick Jacob Watters. Simpson enjoyed a breakout season, primarily in High-A Lansing, hitting .282 with a .378 OBP and 18 home runs, including 18 games in Double-A Midland. However, Baseball America notes some concerns with Simpson’s swing and questions how the Rays will find playing time for him, given the organization’s depth at first base with players like Tre’ Morgan, Xavier Isaac, and Bobby Seymour.
Even before the trade, playing time at first base would have been hard to come by for Simpson in Oakland. The A’s 2024 first-round pick, Nick Kurtz, has already advanced to Double-A, and former first-rounder Tyler Soderstrom appears set to be Oakland’s first baseman in 2025.
By leveraging a player unlikely to secure a rotation spot, a mid-round pick, and their Competitive Balance Pick, the A’s secured Springs, who showed elite potential before an injury in 2023, where he posted a 0.56 ERA across 16 innings. Now fully healthy, Springs could become a cornerstone of the A’s pitching staff and play a key role in their resurgence in 2025.
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