Yankees fans will recognize the twist in this weekend’s series at the Stadium originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
At one point, all of the A’s rotation coming into the Bronx this weekend to face the New York Yankees would have been wearing pinstripes. In a weird twist, the formerly Oakland A’s rotation for the series at Yankee Stadium is a full-blown reunion with Mitch Spence, JP Sears, and Luis Severino. All three have worn pinstripes. All three have something to prove.
And you can be sure all three will be trying to beat the team that gave them their first shot.
Spence is the newest ex-Yankee of the bunch. Drafted in the 10th round back in 2019, he was plucked by Oakland in the Rule 5 Draft just last December. He made his big league debut earlier this year and has quietly stuck around, mostly working in long relief. Friday’s start will be his fifth of the season—and his first at Yankee Stadium. He saw the Yankees once already, giving up three runs on four hits in two innings on May 11. Now he gets his first taste of the Bronx crowd, which tends to remember names… and line scores.
Then there’s Sears. Yankees fans will recall the lefty who went 3-0 with a 2.05 ERA during a strong cameo in 2022 before getting shipped to Oakland in the Frankie Montas deal. That trade hasn’t aged well on either side, but Sears looked like the lone bright spot—until recently.
He’s been roughed up over his last seven outings, going 1-4 with an 8.72 ERA. Forty-five hits in 32 innings will do that. Still, lefties with command always get more chances.
And then there’s Severino.
Once the Yankees’ ace of the future, Severino racked up 33 wins and back-to-back All-Star nods in 2017 and 2018 before injuries took over the narrative. He had a bounce-back season with the Mets last year, then shocked just about everyone by signing a three-year, $67 million deal with Oakland. His return to the Bronx will be emotional—for him, maybe. For the fans? Let’s just say it depends which version of Severino shows up.
Three former Yankees. One weekend. And probably more than a few flashbacks.
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 27, 2025, where it first appeared.