Next up in our look back at the A’s players in 2025, we turn back to the rotation and look at the year with Jacob Lopez. Will 2026 be his year to break permanently into the starting rotation?

How was he acquired?

Jacob Lopez was originally drafted by the San Francisco Giants  in the 26th round, with the 766th overall selection of the 2018 Major League Baseball draft. On July 31, 2019, the Giants traded Lopez to the Tampa Bay Rays. He pitched in eight games across the 2023 and 2024 seasons for the Rays, then on December 14, 2024, Lopez and Jeffrey Springs were traded to the Athletics.

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What were the expectations?

The A’s called him up in mid-April of 2025 for his Kelly green and gold debut.  He made three nondescript relief appearances and one short start before being sent back down to AAA Las Vegas for nearly another month. But once he was called back up to the bigs, he began consistently starting games.

2025 Results

After his second call-up, in May, Lopez started all but one appearance, logging a 7-7 record with a 4.08 ERA. He punched out 113 batters in 92.2 innings.  His longest outing of the year was August 7 against the Washington Nationals in Washington and tossed 7.2 innings of 3-hit shutout ball striking out a career-high 10 batters. He won that game, and in fact won every start in August except for his final outing when he left early with an injury.

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His season ended in late August when he went on the Injured List (IL) with a left elbow flexor strain.

2026 Outlook

Lopez will turn 28 just before the 2026 season begins. I see this as a season where, if he remains healthy, he will be a huge contributor to the A’s starting rotation.