A’s roster moves: Ginn activated, Holman optioned

Getting a young starting pitching option back

The Athletics announced a medium-sized roster move on Monday afternoon in the leadup to their series opener with the Houston Astros, activating young right-hander J.T. Ginn off the injured list and bringing him back to the active roster:

Ginn returns to the club after missing just under a month due to that strained right quadricep muscle. The 26-year-old had only just returned from a separate stint on the IL when he suffered the second injury in his first start back. He’s been on a rehab outing for the past couple weeks, making two starts for the Aviators as he ramps back up. He pitched into the fourth inning in both appearances, allowing three runs along with a 5/6 BB:K ratio across both contests. He managed to get his pitch count up to 72 in his last outing and the team clearly feels like he’s ready to return to the pitching staff. The rookie has posted a 5.60 ERA through four starts for the Athletics this season, a number he’ll look to lower when he next takes the hill.

There hasn’t been any indication of how the team plans to use Ginn now that he’s rejoined the active roster. Luis Severino and JP Sears almost certainly aren’t getting demoted to the bullpen, and the same is likely also true of Jeffrey Springs. Fellow rookie Jacob Lopez has gotten hit hard in a couple starts this season but is now on a roll, not allowing a single run over his previous two starts which spanned 10 innings and saw him collect 14 strikeouts compared to just three walks. And Mitch Spence has only just returned to the starting rotation after beginning the year in the Athletics’ bullpen and has looked good in his familiar role. Would the team bump one of those starters to make room for Ginn in the starting five, or use Ginn in more of a long man role to help keep him healthy? Something to keep an eye on, but Ginn isn’t scheduled to start any games during this Astros series, which seems like a good indication of the path they’re about to go with for the highly-regarded arm.

To make room on the roster the team elected to demote right-handed reliever Grant Holman to Triple-A. It’s been a mixed bag for the rookie here in 2025. After beginning the year in Triple-A Holman has been in the major league ‘pen since the end of April. He’s made 22 appearances so far this year, including two “opener” assignments. While he’s had scoreless appearances in 17 of his outings, when he does get hit he gets hit hard. His last appearance for the A’s was last Wednesday, when he allowed three runs without getting a single out, ruining a great start from JP Sears and letting a win over the Angels slip through the team’s hands. Overall he’s sporting a 5.09 ERA on the year. He’ll now return to the Aviators and try to find a bit more consistency in a friendlier environment. This certainly won’t be the last we see of Holman with the A’s this season.