Irvin embracing 'crazy' new role on A's staff

ANAHEIM -- Once Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino were traded away on Monday, the expectation around baseball, including those inside the A’s clubhouse, was that more moves were sure to come before Tuesday’s 3 p.m. PT Trade Deadline.

In preparation for possible additional deals, ?Cole Irvin? boarded the early bus to Angel Stadium before Tuesday night’s 3-1 loss to the Angels to make sure he'd be able to say goodbye to any departing teammates in person.

“I kind of anticipated more guys to leave,” Irvin said. “I’m glad we kept a lot of guys in this room. Ironically, the two closest buddies I was with this team are both with the Yankees now. That played with the heartstrings a little bit. They helped me a lot last year in learning about becoming a big leaguer.”

? A's acquire 4 Yanks prospects for Montas, Trivino

Though there was plenty of speculation involving a number of other A’s players on the Major League squad, the Montas/Trivino deal with the Yankees in exchange for four prospects ended up the only one. Later in the night, Irvin shifted his focus to the mound and delivered six solid innings, limiting the Halos to three runs (two earned) on six hits and two walks, with four strikeouts.

After trading away established veteran arms in Sean Manaea and Chris Bassitt this spring, Irvin knew he’d need to step up as a reliable option for manager Mark Kotsay. With Montas now gone, the left-hander's importance to a young pitching staff will only increase as the A’s seek a strong finish to their final two months of the season.

In fact, as the A’s rotation is currently constructed, Irvin is the elder statesman. Pitching in his 70th career Major League game Tuesday and making his 54th Major League start, the 28-year-old is now Oakland’s most experienced starter.

“That’s crazy to me to hear,” Irvin said. “I don’t think about it. This game is just crazy and weird sometimes. I only have two years and so many days [in the big leagues]. To lead the staff, that’s kind of bizarre. That’s just kind of wild. What a crazy stat.”

Does he feel a need to step up as a leader?

“We’re all trying to step up in our own way,” Irvin said. “We’re always trying to improve and get better. I think it’s holding each other accountable. Paul [Blackburn] and [James Kaprielian] hold me accountable just as much as I do them. That’s how we get better and stronger as a staff.”

Irvin certainly led by example in an encouraging month of July for the A’s that saw them go 14-12, earning their first winning month of 2022. Over five July starts, he went 4-1 with a 1.85 ERA and walked just three batters in 34 innings.

Now holding a 3.04 ERA through 18 starts season after Tuesday’s quality outing -- his sixth consecutive start in which he’s allowed two earned runs or fewer -- Irvin is in a similar spot to where he was through 18 starts last season, when he held a 3.65 ERA. Perhaps due to 2021 being his first full season in the Majors and his first time dealing with such a large workload as a pitcher, Irvin’s effectiveness eventually tailed off as the second half went along, finishing with a 4.24 ERA in 32 starts.

With that experience of last year under his belt, Irvin said he feels like he’s in a better spot to handle the large workload this time around, while also able to impart wisdom on the other first-year pitchers on the staff.

“I know last year I didn’t finish as strong as I’d like to,” Irvin said. “This year I feel I’m in a lot better position, health-wise and [with] strength. Just consistency every time I take the ball. The biggest thing is to make sure guys are on their stuff. We want to finish this thing strong and continue the month we had last month, continue pushing."

While Irvin, Blackburn and Kaprielian remain locks, the rest of the A's starting rotation is a fluid situation. Whether roles become filled by players who have already received opportunities -- such as Adam Oller, Zach Logue and Adrián Martínez -- or the new pitchers recently acquired from the Yankees in Ken Waldichuk and JP Sears, both of whom will debut at Triple-A Las Vegas this week and are considered close to Major League ready, how the starting rotation fills out will be a key storyline going forward.

“There’s opportunity here with Frankie leaving and Lou gone,” Kotsay said. “We’ve been here before having gone through it out of Spring Training. The message is the same. It’s a next-man-up mentality.”