As the A’s look to make moves to bolster their pitching staff this offseason, adding a left-handed arm to their bullpen is a need. With the club’s best left-handed bullpen arm from 2025 in Sean Newcomb heading into free agency, they might have to look elsewhere to replace him if they are unable to bring him back.
Their only current in-house options would be Hogan Harris, Brady Basso, and possibly Ken Waldichuk, with both Basso and Waldichuk being seen as starters coming off their injuries. Because the team will hold at least two or three left-handed relievers, the A’s will likely bring in someone to pair with Hogan Harris, who appears to be guaranteed a spot in the bullpen.
Friday afternoon was the MLB non-tender deadline, and many former star players and league veterans were non-tendered and will enter free agency. One of the many veterans now on the open market is former San Francisco Giants southpaw, Joey Lucchesi. The former fourth-rounder has pitched in parts of seven big-league seasons with the Padres, Mets, and spent his 2025 campaign in San Francisco.
Heading into 2025, Lucchesi had only made four career relief appearances compared to 77 career starts. However, the Giants had a solidified rotation, which meant Lucchesi would join their bullpen. The move for the 32-year-old would actually work out well, as he finished 2025 with a 3.76 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP in 38 1/3 innings pitched for the Giants.
Joey Lucchesi’s advanced stats were also super impressive and could make him even more attractive to the A’s. The left-hander had an expected ERA of 3.53, and he was amazing at keeping the ball on the ground.
His 54.2% ground ball rate would make him one of the best in Major League Baseball if he were a qualified pitcher. Lucchesi was also elite in limiting hard hit balls, which he was also above the 90th percentile in that category.
Keeping the ball on the ground and limiting hard-hit balls are something the A’s will certainly be looking at adding this offseason, as the team is currently playing its home games at a minor league site, Sutter Health Park.
Adding Lucchesi would be huge for the team’s need at left-handed reliever, and he has a ton of success against left-handed hitters. Lefties batted .219 with a .598 OPS against him in 2025. By comparison, Sean Newcomb held lefties to a .226 batting average with a .629 OPS across 92 1/3 innings of work total.
Adding a guy like Lucchesi not only fills their need for a lefty, but also helps the matchup game, which is something that Kotsay found a lot of success with late in games this past season. After trading Mason Miller, the A’s bullpen held an ERA of 2.99 from August 1 through the end of the season, which ranked second in baseball.
Sure, having a big arm like Sean Newcomb or another dominant left-hander in free agency would be nice, but it could also come at a bigger cost. The Giants non-tendered Lucchesi, and he was only projected to cost them $2 million for 2026.
To compete with other offers, the A’s will likely have to give Joey Lucchesi a one-year deal worth somewhere between $2-5 million. Assuming he can stay healthy and have the same production in more innings next season, that price would be a steal. If they could get a deal done with him soon, they could shift gears and focus on their other team’s needs at starting pitcher and third base.
