Elephant Rumblings: A’s hit road to commence second half

MLB news roundup

Happy Friday, Athletics Nation!

The A’s begin the second half of their 2025 season on the road today, with the first of three games in Cleveland against Stephen Vogt and the Guardians taking place tonight. JP Sears is scheduled to be the first of the alliterative trio of arms slated for this first series in a ten game road trip.

Trade season is getting into full swing with plenty of rumors abound, so lineups are a bit more subject to change than usual. Regardless, baseball will be played, so you can take a break from the A’s live ballpark construction feed—which I’m sure you’re absolutely enthralled with—to catch some A’s games. And I will say that I agree with Matthew Kalinowski at SI.com that lefty Jeffrey Springs should not be traded—unless someone makes an irresistible offer, anyway.

The A’s split a four-game series against the Guardians in Sacramento last month, so this series will determine who prevails in the matchup for the whole season.

The A’s will depart Ohio on Monday and head deep into the heart of Texas to take on the Rangers in a three game series. The A’s are 5-2 against Marcus Semien and company this season, with six left to play.

The last leg of this road trip runs through Houston, where the A’s will take on their arch nemeses, the Astros, who have tightened their grip on the AL West with a five game lead over the Mariners. The A’s are 2-4 on the season against the Stros, but hopefully Brent Rooker and crew will keep cranking ‘em out of the ballpark to make up some ground and herald a second half surge as the dog days of summer wear on. The A’s will play four in Houston before heading back to Sactown to host the Mariners.

Have a wonderful weekend, AN.

A’s Coverage

• AL West 2025 draft report cards: Top collegiate pitching dominates the division’s classes ($)
• How to Watch A’s Las Vegas Ballpark Construction
• A’s May Clear Up 40-Man Roster This Trade Deadline
• A’s Should Not Trade Jeffrey Springs at the MLB Trade Deadline

MLB News & Interest:

• MLB trade deadline tiers 2.0: Sorting through the buyers, sellers and ‘tailors’ ($)
• 1 goal for each team in the second half
• Rosenthal: What I’m hearing about the MLB trade deadline with two weeks to go ($)
• Should MLB’s automated ball-strike system have a built-in buffer zone? ($)
• Kyle Gibson Announces Retirement
• Yankees Interested In Mitch Keller
• Today in Baseball History

Best of X:

Roster moves.