Veteran starting pitcher Jeffrey Springs had a tough 2026 with the Athletics, finishing with a 6.18 ERA while giving up the second-most home runs in all of baseball. Philadelphia Phillies starter Aaron Nola led the way with 37 home runs allowed, while Springs and Cubs starter Shota Imanaga each gave up 35. 

In perusing Baseball Savant, we noticed that Springs was pretty unlucky in his home run rate. Based on the data that Savant has and the metrics of the home runs, if he had made all of his starts in any park — including at Sutter Health Park or Coors Field — he would have allowed fewer home runs than the 35 he actually surrendered. 

If he'd played all of his games in West Sacramento, Springs would have finished with 31 home runs allowed, while that number would have been just 30 at Coors Field. Sutter Health Park has graded out as the second-most home-run-friendly ballpark in baseball over the past two seasons, trailing just Dodger Stadium. 

If Springs had been a Pittsburgh Pirate and played all of his games at PNC Park, the lefty would have given up just 20 home runs. The tough part of being a fly-ball pitcher as a member of the A's right now is that the ball tends to fly, and you're not able to just go out and pitch your game. 

That's partially why the A's seem primed to go out and get some ground-ball pitchers this winter. 

Springs has a team option worth $15 million for the 2027 season, but given the results from this past season and the lefty being a fly-ball pitcher, it's unlikely the A's pick up that option. 

Home Run Tidbits

When looking at Springs' Savant data, it was initially odd that he would have given up fewer long balls in every other park, so we took a look at some of the other pitchers that gave up home runs at a high rate to see if this was routine or something special.

Aaron Nola gave up 37 home runs in 2026, but he too ran the gamut. If all of his games were played in his home ballpark of Citizens Bank Park, Nola would have actually given up one more homer. At Cincinnati's Great American Ball Park, he would have remained at 38.

However, in Boston, Nola would have allowed just 18 home runs. This is presumably due to the Green Monster in left field.

Even with Springs being a left-hander and facing more righties, the Green Monster would have also stopped balls for him as well, limiting him to just 23 home runs at Fenway. Shota Imanaga and Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland (29 home runs) would have also fared much better at Fenway, with Imanaga dropping from 35 to 23, and Freeland going from 29 to 19. 

The biggest difference here is that both Imanaga and Freeland would have still allowed more home runs in Philadelphia than they actually did, with the Cubs lefty projected at 36 home runs (+1) and the Rockies southpaw at 34, a five-home-run increase. 

Of the 20 pitchers who gave up 25 or more home runs in 2026, only Springs would have fared better pitching every single game at the same ballpark, which speaks to some of the frustrations of his season. 

With the A's presumably declining his option, Springs will likely become a free agent this offseason. The good news for the left-hander is that there are plenty of ballparks in which he'll be less prone to the long ball. Given the home run data, he should be an intriguing bounce-back candidate in 2027.