Trading Luis Severino Is Not Going To Be an Easy Task
Luis Severino's first year with the Athletics has not gone to plan, potentially making a trade deadline deal for him a difficult task.
Despite having no permanent home, the Athletics entered the 2025 season with plenty of reason for optimism.
They had a scrappy, up-and-coming roster featuring the likes of some of the most electrifying, yet underrated, talent in Brent Rooker, Lawrence Butler, Tyler Soderstrom and Jacob Wilson — the former two of which were freshly signed to brand new extensions.
They also managed to bolster their rotation by adding Luis Severino and Jeffery Springs in the offseason.
Pair all this with a potential fast-rising prospect in Nick Kurtz — who turned out to be exactly that — and it was easy to be excited about the A’s entering the year. Perhaps it wasn’t crazy to think they’d make more noise than they had in recent years as they build toward meaningful baseball in the near future.
This year, however, has not gone that way for the A’s. They enter the All-Star break with the worst record in the AL West and second-worst record in the entire American League at 41-57, 11 games back from a postseason spot.
This puts them firmly in the sellers conversation as they’ll look to find pieces to compliment the core of Rooker, Butler, Wilson, Soderstrom and Kurtz. The problem is they lack many top-tier tradable assets that other squads have.
Sure, Mason Miller will be a big name to watch, but beyond him there are no real awe-inspiring names to dangle in trade negotiations.
One of the names they likely hoped would have given them more options ahead of the July 31 deadline was Severino, as he doesn’t seem to have a long-term future with A’s. However, 2025 has created an unfavorable trade scenario for him and his current ball club for multiple different reasons.
Is It Possible for the Athletics To Trade Severino?
On-Field Issues
To say 2025 has not been Severino’s year could be considered an major understatement.
Entering this season, he was coming off a career revitalization in 2024. In his lone year with the Mets working on a one-year contract, he became one of the key fixtures in their pennant-challenging rotation. In 182 innings of work, Severino went from a 6.65 ERA with the Yankees in ’23 to a 3.91 ERA a year later.
However, after signing his three-year deal with the A’s, he’s jumped back up to a high-ERA total, throwing to a 5.16 ERA through 20 starts.
Obviously, if Severino were pitching better, then he would easily be a more attractive trade commodity. That being said his contract poses as more of the issue than his performance.
An ERA over 5.00, WHIP over 1.40, and BAA over .260 is not going to be at the top of anyone’s trade list. However, with a FIP at 4.33 and xERA at 4.68 lower than his ERA, there’s some argument to be made that Severino has been mildly unlucky this season.
Then, there’s his current 3.04 road ERA that can also bring about a feeling of hope for a better Severino if he gets a change of scenery.
If his contract situation was like it was in 2024, an expiring deal in an affordable price range, it might be easier for potential trade suitors to overlook his flaws and lean into the “change of scenery” narrative.
Severino still holds a $25 million price tag in 2026 and $22 million player option for 2027. Plus there’s still the remainder of his $20 million salary this season.
Other teams, like maybe his previous employers in the big-money Mets, might have been willing to eat some of his contract to move, however a small-market, rebuilding team like the Athletics are probably less willing to eat money in an effort to maximize on-field payroll.
This already leaves A’s in a precarious spot, before you take into account the off-field motivations for wanting to move him.
Off-Field Issues
On top of struggling on the field in 2025, Severino is also making waves off the field thanks to some detrimental comments made to the media about the team.
Brendan Kuty of The Athletic reported last month that Severino is not a fan of pitching in Sutter Health Park Sacramento.
“It feels like a spring training kind of game every time I pitch, and every time other guys pitch,” Severino told Kuty.
“We don’t have that at home right now. It’s not the same. It’s not the same atmosphere. We don’t have a lot of fans,” he said. “Our clubhouse is in left field. So, when we play day games, we have to just be in the sun. There’s no air conditioning there, too. It’s really tough.”
Perhaps he’s not wrong, but harping on a team’s facilities, temporary or not, will never sit well the organization.
This has resulted in USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reporting that the A’s are upset with Severino for his comments and “are now open to trading him.”
The A’s may have very well shown their hand and lost some leverage in trade negotiations, as teams now have the idea that they want to rid themselves of Severino. The return was already going to be lower for the struggling Severino, and this dispute only adds fuel to the fire.
At the end of the day, nothing is impossible and a deal for Severino could very well happen, especially when insiders like Nightengale say things such as, “It may come as a surprise if he’s still with the organization come August.”
All that to say Severino has done himself and the A’s no favors if he hopes to have this union ended in a timely manner ahead of the July 31 trade deadline.
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