The Athletics optioned Spence to Triple-A Las Vegas on Thursday.
The transaction comes one day after Spence was torched for eight runs over six innings in a loss to Atlanta. Spence was not scheduled for another start before the All-Star break, so the A's have replaced him with some bullpen protection in the form of Osvaldo Bido. It's possible Spence gets another chance in the big-league rotation after the All-Star break, although he won't be eligible to be recalled until July 25.
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Athletics' Mitch Spence: Lit up by Atlanta in loss
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Spence (2-5) took the loss against Atlanta on Wednesday, allowing eight runs on nine hits and one walk while striking out five batters over six innings.
Spence's outing began in ominous fashion, as Ronald Acuna led off the contest with a solo home run against him. That set the tone for a disastrous outing by the right-hander, as he surrendered a career-worst five homers and eight earned runs. To his credit, Spence was at least able to preserve the Athletics' bullpen a bit by tossing six frames, but this was a continuation of a recent poor stretch for the 27-year-old. Spence has lost each of his past four starts, posting a 7.84 ERA and 1.60 WHIP while giving up nine long balls over that span.
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Athletics' Mitch Spence: Loses lead in sixth frame
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Spence (2-4) took the loss against Tampa Bay on Wednesday, allowing four runs on seven hits while striking out five across five-plus innings. He did not issue a walk.
Spence was in control through the first five innings, with his lone blemish coming in the second when he gave up an inside-the-park home run to Jake Mangum. Spence entered the sixth looking to collect his first quality start of the season, but things quickly got out of hand after giving up a solo homer to Josh Lowe before yielding a two-run long shot to Yandy Diaz just two batters later. Spence has given up four earned runs in two of his last three outings, and in his six starts he sports a 3.64 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 23:7 K:BB across 29.2 innings. He is slated to start against Atlanta at home next week, which might be his last turn in the rotation before the All-Star break.
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Athletics' Mitch Spence: Yields two earned runs in loss
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Spence (2-3) took the loss against the Yankees on Friday, allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits and four walks while striking out five across five innings.
Spence retired the side in the first , but he gave up one run in each of the next three innings, including a solo homer to Jazz Chisholm in the second. It was a solid outing for Spence, as he generated 13 whiffs while tossing 89 pitches (54 strikes), but he couldn't avoid the loss as the A's were blanked by Will Warren and the Yankees' bullpen. Spence has made five starts since moving into the Athletics' rotation in early June, going 1-2 with a 2.92 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 18:7 K:BB across 24.2 innings. He's tentatively slated to face the Rays on the road next week.
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Athletics' Mitch Spence: Tagged for four runs in loss
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Spence (2-2) took the loss against Cleveland on Saturday, allowing four runs on eight hits and one walk while striking out three batters over 4.2 innings.
Spence's downfall was the second frame, when he gave up all four of his runs and six of his eight hits. Outside of that, he notched three 1-2-3 innings and just two singles. The four runs were a season-worst mark for Spence, who came into Saturday having allowed just two runs over 17 frames across his previous four starts. He'll try to get back on track in his next start, which is tentatively scheduled to be a tough road matchup versus the Yankees.
Spence allowed one run on seven hits and one walk while striking out two batters over five innings in a no-decision against Houston on Monday.
Spence served up a solo homer to Jose Altuve in the first inning, but he kept Houston from scoring over his final four frames. The right-hander recorded just one 1-2-3 inning and induced only six whiffs, but this was still a nice outing overall. Spence has been impressive since joining the Athletics' rotation early this month, allowing only two runs while registering a 10:2 K:BB over 15 innings across three starts. He's tentatively slated to face Cleveland at home in his next appearance.
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Athletics' Mitch Spence: Turns in scoreless start
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Spence allowed three hits and struck out four without walking a batter over five scoreless innings in a no-decision versus the Angels on Tuesday.
Spence has allowed one run over 10 innings across two starts since joining the Athletics' rotation. He stretched out to 75 pitches (50 strikes) in Tuesday's start, so he should be close to a full workload within his next couple of outings. His strong performance as a starter has trimmed his ERA from 4.38 to 3.67, and he's added a 1.20 WHIP and 45:15 K:BB over 49 innings this season. The right-hander is not guaranteed to stay in the rotation once J.T. Ginn (quadriceps) is ready to be activated from the injured list -- it'll likely come down to Spence or Jacob Lopez for the No. 5 starter role, but Spence has the better numbers.
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Athletics' Mitch Spence: Getting another start
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Spence is slated to start Tuesday's game against the Angels in Anaheim.
After making his first 22 appearances of the season out of the bullpen, Spence moved into the rotation last week and came through with an impressive outing in Thursday's win over the Twins. He allowed a solo home run to Matt Wallner but otherwise kept the Twins off the board through five innings, striking out four while scattering three hits and one walk. Spence will be awarded another start for his efforts, and a strong showing versus the Angels could be enough to solidify his spot in the rotation on a longer-term basis.
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Athletics' Mitch Spence: Sharp in first start
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Spence (2-1) earned the win Thursday over the Twins, allowing one run on three hits and a walk over five innings. He struck out four.
It was an impressive outing for Spence in his first start of the year after opening the year as a reliever. The right-hander needed just 57 pitches to make it through five innings, with the lone blemish coming on a Matt Wallner homer in the fourth. Spence, who came into the day with a 4.38 ERA across 39 innings out of the bullpen, likely earned himself another look in the A's rotation. His next start would likely come next week on the road against the Angels.
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Athletics' Mitch Spence: Getting first start of season
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Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said that Spence will start Thursday's game against the Twins in Sacramento, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.
Spence made 24 starts for the Athletics as a rookie in 2024, but he's worked exclusively out of the bullpen so far this season, logging a 4.38 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 37:14 K:BB in 39 innings. Though manager Mark Kotsay specifically referred to Spence as a starter rather than opening pitcher for Thursday's contest, the right-hander is still expected to have a relatively limited workload, given that he'll be pitching on three days' rest and hasn't covered more than 4.1 innings or tossed more than 56 pitches in any of his 22 appearances on the season. If Spence fares well in his start Thursday, the Athletics could have him continue getting more stretched out while keeping him in the rotation on a longer-term basis.
Athletics' Mitch Spence: Beginning season in bullpen
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Spence will begin the season in the Athletics' bullpen, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.
The A's will go with Joey Estes as their fifth starter over Spence, who allowed nine runs (eight earned) with a 7:3 K:BB over 11.2 innings this spring. Spence is likely to operate in long relief and should be the first guy called upon when the Athletics are in need of a fill-in starter.
Athletics' Mitch Spence: Making case for fifth starter role
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Spence gave up two runs (one earned) over 3.1 innings with three strikeouts and two walks in Sunday's Cactus League loss to Arizona. He has a 1.13 ERA with a 6:2 K:BB in eight innings this spring.
Spence may be the leading candidate for the fifth starter role and has outperformed Joey Estes and Osvaldo Bido so far this spring. However, the final two spots in the Oakland rotation are uncertain at this point. While Spence had a subpar strikeout rate last season (19.4 percent), he did have an above-average groundball rate (48.4 percent) and swinging-strike rate (10.4 percent).
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Athletics' Mitch Spence: Takes loss in season finale
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Spence (8-10) allowed six runs on seven hits and struck out five without walking a batter over 4.1 innings to take the loss Sunday versus the Mariners.
Spence hadn't allowed more than three runs in any of his previous six starts, but he struggled late in his outing Sunday. The Mariners put up two runs in the fourth inning and another four runs in the fifth, capped off by a Cal Raleigh home run. There were some promising stretches for Spence, but the 26-year-old rookie also had some struggles, ending the year with a 4.58 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 126:44 K:BB over 151.1 innings across 35 appearances (24 starts). Spence should have a good chance of making the Athletics' rotation in 2025.
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Athletics' Mitch Spence: Can't make it to five innings
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Spence did not factor into the decision in Tuesday's win over the Rangers, allowing three runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out two over 4.2 innings.
Spence found himself with traffic on the bases in every inning but the second, leading to runs for the Rangers in the first, fourth and fifth innings. He has now gone fewer than five innings in two of his last four starts and has allowed a homer in three straight after Nathaniel Lowe took him deep in the fourth. Spence has also allowed 29 hits in his last 21 innings, but he has only given up eight runs over that span. The 26-year-old now owns a 4.35 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 121:44 K:BB in 147 innings and tentatively lines up for one final start against the Mariners this weekend.
Spence (8-9) picked up the win in Tuesday's 4-3 victory over the Cubs, giving up two runs on seven hits and a walk over five innings. He struck out six.
It's the right-hander's first win since July 27. Spence didn't pitch poorly during that eight-start winless streak, however, posting a 4.01 ERA, 1.45 WHIP and 35:13 K:BB over 42.2 innings. He lines up to make his final start of 2024 at home next week against the Rangers.
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