Sources - A's acquiring left-hander Jeffrey Springs from Rays - ESPN

The Athletics are acquiring left-hander Jeffrey Springs in a six-player trade with the Tampa Bay Rays, sources told ESPN on Saturday, continuing their push toward contention with a significant increase in their payroll as they head into their first season in Sacramento.

Springs and one other player will go to the A's while right-handers Joe Boyle and Jacob Watters, first baseman Will Simpson, and a Competitive Balance A round draft pick — somewhere in the late 30s — will go to the Rays, sources said.

Pushing their payroll into the $100 million range, the A's acquired Springs — who is owed $10.5 million each of the next two seasons and has a $15 million club option for 2027 — on the heels of giving free agent Luis Severino a three-year, $67 million contract.

Springs, 32, broke out in 2022 with the Rays after bouncing from Texas to Boston to Tampa Bay. He looked primed for a big 2023 after signing an extension, only to tear the ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow.

He returned from Tommy John surgery last season and, in seven starts, went 2-2 with a 3.27 ERA and 37 strikeouts against 11 walks in 33 innings. Springs will join Severino and J.P. Sears in a rotation that also could include left-hander Hogan Harris and right-handers Joey Estes, Mitch Spence, Osvaldo Bido and Luis Medina.

The A's went 69-93 this year. With a core of designated hitter Brent Rooker, outfielders Lawrence Butler and JJ Bleday, catcher Shea Langeliers, shortstop Jacob Wilson, and first-base prospect Nick Kurtz, they are positioning themselves to compete in a wide-open American League West.

Boyle, 25, is the lone player with major league experience going to the Rays. At 6-foot-7 and 240 pounds, Boyle throws a 98 mph fastball and devastating