Jeffrey Springs

Jeffrey Scott Springs

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 3", Weight 180 lb.
• School Appalachian State University
• High School South Point High School (Belmont)
• Debut July 31, 2018

• Born September 20, 1992 in Belmont, NC USA

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Biographical Information

Pitcher Jeffrey Springs was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 30th round of the 2015 amateur draft out of Appalachian State University. He was not considered much of a prospect because his fastball topped out in the low 90's, but he made up for it with an outstanding change-up and above-average control. He reached the majors in mid-season in 2018 and had a nice first year, going 1-1, 3.38 in 18 games, including a pair of starts for the Rangers; he struck out 31 batters in 32 innings.

After his good first season, he struggled in his next two. In 2019, he went 4-1, 6.40 in 25 games in relief, then after the season was traded to the Boston Red Sox for Sam Travis. He went 0-2, 7.08 in 16 games for Boston in 2020, which turned out to be his only one at Fenway Park as on February 17, 2021, he was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays along with Chris Mazza in return for minor leaguers Ronaldo Hernandez and Nick Sogard in a deal that received little attention. However, the Rays had seen something in him, and he turned in a solid first season for them, going 5-1, 3.43 in a career-high 43 games with 2 saves and 63 strikeouts in 44 2/3 innings. He did even better in 2022, when the Rays moved him to the starting rotation and he responded by going 9-5, 2.46 in 33 games (25 starts) , with 144 strikeouts in 135 1/3 innings. In both 2021 and 2022, the Rays made it to the postseason, but he did not appear in any games either year. In 2022, he would have started Game 3 of the Wild Card Series against the Cleveland Guardians had the Rays not lost the first two contests to be eliminated.

He began the 2023 season with a dazzling performance against the Detroit Tigers in his first start on April 2nd, as he pitched six hitless innings, walking one batter and striking out 12 before giving way to Colin Poche in the 7th. Poche allowed and infield single to Riley Greene to break up the no-hit bid, but Springs still received credit for the 5-1 win. He was a winner again in his second start on April 8th, when he pitched 7 scoreless innings against the Oakland Athletics, but in his third start, on April 13th against the Boston Red Sox, he gave up his first run of the season on a solo homer by Rob Refsnyder in the 1st, then had to leave the game in the 4th when he felt an impingement in his elbow while facing Justin Turner. The Rays won that game to match the major league record for best start at 13-0, but the possible lost of Springs for a longer period cast a pall on the win. The news went from bad to worse as it was expected that he would need to undergo Tommy John surgery, ending what looked like a very promising season.

Further Reading

• Adam Berry: "Rays sign lefty Springs to 4-year extension", mlb.com, January 25, 2023. [1]

Related Sites

• Jeffrey Springs on mlb.com