Ginn eager to show A's what he can offer in 2025

PEORIA, Ariz. -- For an idea of what version of J.T. Ginn the Athletics want to see this spring, all you have to do is look back to his final outing of the 2024 season.

In just his sixth Major League start, Ginn drew the start for the A’s in what was the club’s final scheduled home game at the Oakland Coliseum. Pitching in front of a raucous sold-out crowd of 46,889 fans, the rookie right-hander honed that energy and electricity circulating through the building and limited the defending World Series champion Rangers to two runs across 5 1/3 innings en route to earning his first Major League win.

Beyond that final line, the A’s were impressed with several factors. For one, Ginn’s ability to remain composed and thrive in such an atmosphere -- he shut down Texas through a scoreless first five innings on just one hit. He also kept his sinker around the bottom of the zone to generate plenty of weak contact, which is precisely what the scouting reports read as his strengths when the A’s first acquired him as a top prospect from the Mets in the 2022 Chris Bassitt deal.

“Seeing the last game at the Coliseum and him pitching really opened my eyes,” said A’s pitching coach Scott Emerson. “That was a big game for a lot of people. … So, my expectation coming into this season is, can we get him to repeat that game on a consistent basis?”

Finding that consistency might just be the key for Ginn to win what figures to be a tight competition for the final spot in the A’s starting rotation with a group that also includes Joey Estes, Mitch Spence and Brady Basso. Luis Severino, JP Sears, Jeffrey Springs and Osvaldo Bido are the four rotation members currently viewed as likely locks.

Ginn fared well in his first taste of big league action, posting a 4.24 ERA in eight games (six starts) last season. But there were still some flaws the A’s identified that they would like to see him address this spring. Among those are adjustments to speed up his times to the plate and develop a more repeatable delivery.

“That’s all important growth for him,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “He learned a lot last year in those starts. … That maturation process for any young pitcher doesn’t have to happen immediately to have success.”

Starting Saturday’s Cactus League season opener, a 10-3 loss to the Padres, Ginn was pulled after a strikeout of Xander Bogaerts -- his fourth of the afternoon -- for the second out of the second inning. He allowed five runs, three of which scored after he departed, on five hits and a walk.

Ginn fired 21 of his 36 pitches for strikes. Save for a few sinkers left up in the zone, he said he felt good about how his overall pitch mix was playing for a first outing.

“I had been looking forward to this all week,” Ginn said. “It was good to get back out there and knock some rust off.”

The A’s are working with Ginn to truly define who he is as a pitcher. As of now, his three-pitch arsenal consists of a sinker, a slider and a changeup, relying heavily on that sinker as a ground-ball pitcher.

This offseason, he tinkered with adding a cutter and four-seam fastball. That process is ongoing this spring.

“Just trying to refine what I do well and add another weapon to use against these guys,” Ginn said. “I feel like I’m in a good spot.”

If Ginn does not make the rotation out of spring, there is also an opportunity for him in the bullpen as a multi-inning reliever. The A’s could also keep him in a starter role at Triple-A Las Vegas.

“We always have to remind him and others that, if [his year] doesn’t start out in the big leagues, it can still finish in the big leagues,” Kotsay said. “This spring is his opportunity to go out and make an impression. Regardless of how it starts out for J.T., we have a lot of confidence in him.”

For Ginn, the goal this spring is to prove himself capable of being a reliable contributor for an A’s club with high expectations for 2025 in any capacity.

“I’m just trying to go out there every day and show up and do my job,” Ginn said. “Work hard to be the best that I can be. Wherever the team needs me, I’m eager to fill whatever role that is.”