Severino a leader in the clubhouse, confident on the mound for A's

MESA, Ariz. -- From gifting Mitch Spence a fancy Rolex in exchange for his jersey number or mentoring fellow Dominican right-hander Osvaldo Bido, Luis Severino has quickly lived up to the clubhouse leader reputation that was brought up so often after he signed with the Athletics this offseason.

Of course, clubhouse presence is only half of the equation when it comes to Severino. The A¡¯s are also plenty excited about what he brings to the field, as his 3.91 ERA in 31 starts with 161 strikeouts across 182 innings for the Mets last year is what landed him a three-year, $67 million contract in December.

The A¡¯s got a first look at their new prized offseason acquisition in game action on Thursday. Making his Cactus League debut in the club¡¯s 6-4 victory over the Padres at Hohokam Stadium, Severino donned the kelly green "Athletics" jersey on the mound for the first time and allowed one run on one hit with a strikeout over two innings.

¡°He did kind of exactly what was expected,¡± manager Mark Kotsay said. ¡°He throws that high heater at the top of the zone. It¡¯s just good that he felt good and was confident when he came off the mound.¡±

Severino was right around his typical fastball average between 95-96 mph and even fired several heaters that touched 97, including his swinging strikeout of Eguy Rosario to end the first inning.

Even as he prepares for his 10th Major League season, Severino is always looking to find ways to upgrade his repertoire.

This spring, his focus is on the cutter. In 2024, Severino held opposing batters to a .200 average against his cutter, but he only threw it 8.1 percent of the time, as opposed to a combined 77.5 percent usage of his four-seamer, sinker and sweeper, according to Statcast.

¡°I¡¯m working on throwing more cutters to lefties,¡± Severino said. ¡°That was a big pitch for me last year, but I feel like I didn¡¯t throw it enough. I¡¯m going to go out there and try to throw that pitch more and let it do the work.¡±

No stranger to October baseball in his time in New York with the Yankees and the Mets, Severino will anchor the A¡¯s rotation and said he believes this young squad has what it takes to make its own run at a playoff spot.

¡°A lot of people think that we are far away from making the playoffs,¡± Severino said. ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s true. We have a good team here. We¡¯re here to compete. ¡­ I think at the end of the year, we¡¯re going to be in a good spot.¡±

Soderstrom still in catching mix

Drafted by the A¡¯s as a catcher in the first round of the 2020 MLB Draft, Tyler Soderstrom has seen his time behind the plate dwindle with each year that goes by as a professional. The former top prospect appeared in 59 games at first base last season for the A¡¯s, as opposed to just one game at catcher.

Entering Spring Training, the belief was that Soderstrom was in line to take over as the club¡¯s primary first baseman. While that still may end up happening, the A¡¯s are also leaving the door open for the 23-year-old to serve as the backup to catcher Shea Langeliers.

¡°What we talked about with Tyler is continuing to keep that [catching] skill set,¡± Kotsay said. ¡°It gives us an opportunity to have a player that provides maybe a role for us that would allow maybe another bench spot.¡±

A catching role for Soderstrom could significantly alter how the A¡¯s go about constructing their Opening Day roster. Coming into camp, Jhonny Pereda, claimed off waivers from the Marlins this offseason, joined Langeliers as the only other true catcher on the 40-man roster. Soderstrom was part of the catcher group that reported to spring early, but the expectation was that he would eventually join the infield group as camp progressed.

If Soderstrom -- who has started two of the A¡¯s first six Cactus League games at catcher -- can improve his skills behind the plate enough to the point where the club feels comfortable rolling with him as Langeliers¡¯ backup to begin the year, that could open the door for another position player on the roster bubble, such as Darell Hernaiz, Brett Harris or Esteury Ruiz, to break camp with the team.

Whether he ends up at first base or catcher, the A¡¯s expect Soderstrom, who hit .333 with a 1.011 OPS in his final 10 Major League games of 2024, to provide an impact with his bat in ¡®25.