ARLINGTON -- JP Sears is no stranger to hearing his name mentioned at the Trade Deadline.
It took only seven games into his Major League career for the left-hander to experience what runs through the minds of most players around this time of year, when the Athletics acquired him from the Yankees at the 2022 Deadline in a package deal for Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino.
Last summer saw multiple reports of several teams inquiring about Sears before he ultimately stayed put. As this year’s July 31 Trade Deadline nears, his name has again been floating around as a potential target for playoff-contending clubs in search of starting pitching.
While the trade rumors circulate, Sears is choosing to concentrate on the present. He certainly showed no signs of distractions on Wednesday night, limiting the Rangers to one run on three hits and no walks with seven strikeouts across five innings in the Athletics’ 2-1 loss at Globe Life Field.
“As a baseball player, there are always a lot of outside factors that matter to you,” Sears said. “You’re always just trying to focus on what you can control, and that’s just every start that I have right now.”
Frustrated by a lack of execution in his previous outing in which he was tagged for seven runs (six earned) at Cleveland in his first start back from the All-Star break, Sears bounced back nicely against Texas. He managed to avoid hard contact for the most part, with an average exit velocity of 90 mph on the 11 balls in play against him.
Aside from Corey Seager, who doubled and homered off him, Sears held the rest of the hitters in the Rangers lineup 1-for-16 and departed after throwing just 82 pitches (57 strikes). He retired the final seven batters he faced, four via strikeout.
“His stuff was really good tonight,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “He’s had success and confidence pitching against this team. The way he moved the ball around tonight was kind of the message going into this start, and the execution of it tonight was really good.”
Sears’ history against the Rangers suggested he might be in line for a get-right game. Dating back to the start of the 2024 season, Sears is now 5-0 with a 2.34 ERA over his last six starts against Texas, including a 1.13 ERA (three earned runs over 24 innings) in four starts at Globe Life Field.
“There’s nothing really that stands out too much,” Sears said of his dominance against the American League West rival. “I mean, I do like the look of the mound and the plate here, but that’s a lot of other stadiums, too. I was just trying to go out there with confidence tonight and fill up the zone.”
It has been an up and down campaign for Sears, who lowered his ERA to 4.98. He has, however, steadily improved over the past couple of months, now having allowed three earned runs or fewer in seven of his last 10 starts.
Beyond the numbers, his best attribute that attracts him to other clubs is his durability. Sears has emerged as the A’s most reliable arm by essentially not missing a turn in the rotation since becoming a full-time member of the starting staff. Sears’ 85 starts dating back to the start of the 2023 season are tied for fourth-most in the Majors.
Even as expected sellers, there is no urgency for the A’s to deal Sears. For one, they believe they are only a year away from making a legit push for a playoff spot if they can improve their pitching. Trading Sears would worsen that side of their club. The 29-year-old is also affordable, barely set to hit salary arbitration for the first time in 2026 and not eligible for free agency until 2029.
Still, Sears and fellow rotation members Luis Severino and Jeffrey Springs likely will continue seeing their names brought up in rumored trade discussions through the end of this month.
“I’m going out there trying to get three outs every inning,” Sears said. “That’s my only focus right now.”