A’s at Padres Spring Training Game Thread

Baseball is back baby

Baseball is back!!!

Well, sort of. Today marks the official start of spring ball as we finally emerge from our long offseason of no baseball to obsess over. The club takes on the San Diego Padres to kick things off, ready to shake off the rust and get going under the Arizona sun. Even with expectations low for their first year away from Oakland, there is an air of excitement and anticipation that wasn’t around this squad over the past few years. We might actually be good this year, and it all starts here.

Here is how the team will line up for the first game of 2025:

Taking the ball for the A’s is right-hander JT Ginn. If you'll remember Ginn was one of two pitchers the A’s acquired from the New York Mets in exchange for former starter Chris Bassitt, who is now in Toronto. Ginn was once a highly-rated prospect but has seen his star fade since joining the organization. Still, he’s made progress and even made his major league debut last year, pitching 8 games including six starts for the Athletics last season. He held his own in that small sample at the end of the year but now faces a seemingly insurmountable hill to breaking camp with the club. Ginn could however put himself first in line for a promotion if/when an injury occurs to the starting staff. His year begins now as he’ll look to impress in his first start of the year.

We can expect a quick hook for Ginn today as is usual during the first few games of spring as pitchers begin building up their arm strength. That means we’ll get to see more arms pitching for the A’s today, and that including left-hander Brady Basso:

Like Ginn, Basso also made his major league debut last year and also held his own, pitching seven games including four starts. Basso also looks like a long-shot to make the Opening Day roster but as a lefty could be an option for the bullpen down the line. We’ll see how our two rookie pitchers do in their first action of 2025.

This is how the Padres will line up today:

BASEBALL IS BACK BABY!!!