John Patrick Sears Jr.…is married, Aileen…graduated from Wilson Hall HS (S.C.) in 2014…was named the 2014 SCISA Class 3A Player of the Year…also starred as a defensive back on Wilson Hall’s 2013 SCISA Class 3A State Championship football team…attended The Citadel where he was 17-15 with a 3.98 ERA in 46 career appearances, 42 starts, in three seasons…struck out 317 in 253.0 innings…was named the Southern Conference Pitcher of the Year in 2017 and also earned All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball (second team), Baseball America (third team), the ABCA (third team), the NCBWA (third team) and D1Baseball.com (third team)…tied a school record with 20 strikeouts in a two-hit shutout on March 24, 2017 vs. VMI.
2023
Was the only pitcher on the A’s to spend the entire season in the starting rotation and went 5-14 with a 4.54 ERA and .784 opponents OPS in 32 starts in his second season in the majors. Led the A’s in strikeouts (161), innings pitched (172.1), games started, losses, hits (165), earned runs (87), home runs (34) and hit batters (16) and tied for the team lead in wins. Set an Oakland record for most hit batters in a season, breaking the previous mark of 13 held by Chris Bassitt (2019) and Barry Zito (2001, 05 and 06) … had the most hit batters by an A’s pitcher since 1911 when Cy Morgan had 21 and Jack Coombs had 16. His five wins were the fewest by a team-leader in Athletics history … the previous low was six by Mike Fiers in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and the fewest in a full season was eight by John Wasdin in 1996. Had a .263 winning percentage, which was fourth lowest in Oakland history and the lowest since Steve Karsay went 3-12 (.200) in 1997. Had 13 no decisions, which tied for fourth most by a starting pitcher in Athletics history and were second most in 2023 (Waldichuk, 15). The 34 home tied for fifth most in Oakland history and were second most over the last 36 years (Griffin, 36 in 2013) … joins Curt Young (38 in 1987) as the only two left-handers in Athletics history to allow 30 or more home runs in a season. Led the majors in hit batters, had the fourth lowest winning percentage (.263), tied for fourth in most home runs, tied for fifth in losses, tied for 10th in games started and tied for 11th in pickoffs (3). Was one of just 45 pitchers in the majors with enough innings to qualify for the ERA title … among those pitchers, he had the fifth highest opponents OPS (.784) and slugging percentage (.465), eighth highest on-base percentage (.319) and 10th highest ERA. Allowed a .249 opponents batting average, which broke down to .232 (125-for-538) with a .749 OPS against right-handed hitters compared to .323 (40-for-124) with a .937 OPS against left-handers … 15 of his 16 hit batters were righties. Of the 34 home runs he surrendered, 21 were solo shots … opponents were for 1-for-12 (.083) with six strikeouts with the bases loaded. Had a .252 opponents batting average the first time through the order, .253 the second time and .238 after that. Was 1-6 with a 3.97 ERA and .706 opponents OPS in 18 starts before the All-Star Break, 4-8 with a 5.33 ERA and .881 OPS in 14 starts after the break. Compiled a 2-2 record and a 3.30 ERA in eight interleague starts, a 3-12 record and a 4.97 ERA in 24 starts against American League teams. Issued 19 of his 53 walks in the first inning. Opponents were 3-for-57 (.053) with 29 strikeouts on an 0-2 count. The A’s were 9-23 (.281) in his starting assignments … had a 2.82 ERA in his 13 no decisions … left with the lead and was in position to win in four of his no decisions. Walked two batters or fewer in 25 of his 32 starts, including seven starts with no walks and nine with just one.
2022
Pitched for four different teams in two organizations and made his Major League debut, combining for a 6-3 record, a 3.86 ERA and .716 opponents OPS in 17 games, including 11 starts...Was on the Yankees' Opening Day roster and went 3-0 with a 2.05 ERA in seven games, including two starts, over five stints…was traded to the A’s with three other players for Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino on Aug. 1…made one start for Triple-A Las Vegas before reporting to Oakland on Aug. 10 and was 3-3 with a 4.69 ERA in 10 games, including nine starts, with the A’s...His six wins ranked sixth among American League rookies…his 3.86 ERA was fifth lowest among AL rookies with 70 or more innings pitched...Combined for a .256 opponents batting average, which broke down to .254 (54-for-213) with a .723 OPS against right-handed hitters compared to .265 (13-for-49) with a .684 OPS against left-handers…yielded 17 of his 20 extra-base hits to righties, including all eight of his home runs...Opponents hit .256 with the bases empty, .255 with runners on…allowed a .226 average with runners in scoring position...Was 5-3 with a 4.27 ERA and .776 opponents OPS in his 11 starts compared to 1-0 with a 2.60 ERA and .501 OPS in six relief appearances…surrendered seven of his eight home runs as a starter...Stranded both of his inherited runners in relief and first batters faced were 0-for-5 with a walk...Was 4-0 with a 2.31 ERA and .585 opponents OPS in eight games against AL West teams, 2-3 with a 5.81 ERA and .858 OPS in nine games against all other teams...Had a 1.64 ERA in the first inning…allowed ten of his 31 runs in the second inning for a 6.75 ERA…had a 3.64 ERA from the third inning on...Combined for a 4-3 record and a 4.25 ERA in ten games in the Coliseum and Yankee Stadium… was 2-0 with a 3.25 ERA in seven games on the road...Allowed three hits or fewer in ten of his 17 appearances and two runs or fewer 13 times...Was 1-1 with a 1.67 ERA in 11 games, including nine starts, with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and allowed one run in 4.2 innings for a no-decision in his only start with Las Vegas… combined with both clubs to go 1-1 with a 1.70 ERA and .438 opponents OPS in 12 games, including ten starts...Struck out 60 batters in 47.2 innings (11.33 per nine innings) and walked just seven (1.32 per nine innings) for a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 8.57…yielded just three home runs...Had the lowest opponents OPS among Triple-A pitchers with 40 or more innings pitched, the second-lowest ERA and on-base percentage (.200), tied for the third-lowest slugging percentage (.238) and had the fourth-lowest batting average (.163)...His opponents batting average broke down to .143 (11-for-77) with a .297 OPS against lefthanded hitters compared to .179 (17-for-95) with a .551 OPS against right-handers…surrendered all three of his home runs and issued six of his seven walks to righties...Allowed a .137 batting average and all three of his home runs with the bases empty, .229 with runners on…opponents hit .162 with runners in scoring position...Yielded a .117 batting average with two strikes...Opponents hit under .200 from each spot in the order except the eight (.250) and nine (.333) spots...Had just two decisions as he tossed fewer than five innings in ten of his 12 outings…his teams were 5-5 in his starting assignments…allowed four hits or fewer in each of his 12 appearances and yielded one run or fewer nine times…did not walk more than one batter in an outing…surrendered all three of his home runs in one start...DAY-BY-DAY: Was on the Yankees Opening Day roster and made his Major League debut on April 13 against Toronto (1.0 ip, 1 so)…retired the side in order in the ninth, fanning George Springer for his first career strikeout…was credited with his first ML win on April 16 at Baltimore when he relieved Taillon with two outs in the fifth and the Yankees leading 4-2 (1.0 ip, 2 h, 1 bb, 1 so)…was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre following the game…struck out a minor league season-high eight batters in 3.2 innings on May 10 against Syracuse…tossed 5.2 innings scoreless innings on May 15 against Syracuse for his only Triple-A win…logged 4.2 hitless innings on May 20 at Worcester and was 1-0 with a 0.83 ERA and .147 opponents batting average in six games, four starts, when he was recalled by New York on May 25…made his first Major League start that day against Baltimore and combined with four relievers on a five-hit shutout in the Yankees 2-0 win…tossed five innings while allowing three of the hits and was sent back to Triple-A following the game…was charged with his only minor league loss on June 2 against Lehigh Valley when he allowed three runs, all unearned, in a 3-2 loss… surrendered all three of his minor league home runs in a no-decision against Rochester on June 15…matched his minor league season-best with eight strikeouts June 21 at Toledo and was 0-1 with a 3.06 ERA in four starts during his second stint with the RailRaiders when the Yankees called June 28…logged 5.2 scoreless innings in a start and win in the Yankees' 2-1 victory over Oakland that day and became just the third pitcher in Yankees history to toss at least five scoreless innings in each of his first two ML starts, joining Luis Gil (2021) and Slow Joe Doyle (1906)…was sent back to the minors following the game but did not pitch before he was recalled for his fourth stint on July 3…allowed the first three runs of his career over two relief appearances (6.1 ip, 4.26 ERA)…faced Cleveland on July 3 and tossed a scoreless sixth and seventh inning to extend his career-opening scoreless streak to 14.2 innings…the streak ended in the eighth inning when he exited the game with a runner on, who eventually scored…pitched 3.2 innings of relief on July 13 vs. Cincinnati and was optioned following the game…once again, did not pitch before he was recalled as the 27th man for the July 21 doubleheader against Houston…pitched in relief in the second game (3.0 ip, 1 h, 2 r, 2 er, 1 so) and was sent back to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre following the game…made his final appearance in the Yankees organization on July 27 at Rochester and tossed 3.2 scoreless innings (1 h, 1 bb, 5 so)…was traded to Oakland on Aug. 1 with Cooper Bowman, Luis Medina and Ken Waldichuk for Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino…made his only start with Las Vegas Aug. 3 against Reno and had a no decision in the Aviators 7-4 loss…was recalled by Oakland on Aug. 10 and spent the remainder of the season with the A’s…tossed five scoreless innings Aug. 16 at Texas for his first win as an Athletic…extended his career-opening winning streak to five games in a 5-3 win over Seattle on Aug. 21…that made him 5-0 with a 1.93 ERA and .555 opponents OPS over his first ten career appearances, including five starts…then faced his former team, the Yankees, in his next start on Aug. 26 and was tagged with the first loss of his career in a 3-2 decision in Oakland…had career highs in innings (6.0), hits (8) and walks (4)…that began a season-ending stretch where he went 1-3 with a 6.06 ERA and .874 OPS over his final seven games, including six starts…finished August 2-1 with a 2.53 and .744 opponents OPS in four starts…then went 1-2 with an 8.27 ERA and .950 OPS in five starts in September…logged a career-high tying six innings Sept. 2 at Baltimore…allowed a career-high six runs on a career-high tying eight hits in a 14-2 loss to Chicago on Sept. 8…tossed just two innings, which was his shortest outing as a starter…struck out a career-high seven batters on a career-high 86 pitches in a 4-1 win over Seattle on Sept. 20…allowed a career-high tying six runs on a career-high tying eight hits in 3.2 innings in a 13-4 loss to New York (NL) on Sept. 25…tossed a career-high tying six scoreless innings in his final start at Seattle on Oct. 1 but had a no decision in the A’s 5-1 loss.
2021
Went 10-2 with one save and a 3.46 ERA (104.0IP, 86H, 43R/40ER, 29BB, 136K, 11HR) in 25 appearances (18 starts) between Double-A Somerset and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2021...Among Yankees farmhands, tied for second in wins, ranked third in strikeouts and sixth in ERA (min. 100.0IP)…Began the season with Double-A Somerset, going 3-2 with one save and a 4.09 ERA (50.2IP, 45H, 24R/23ER, 18BB, 71K, 6HR) in 15 games (eight starts)…was named the Double-A Northeast “Pitcher of the Week” for 5/31-6/6 after going 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA (6.0IP, 3H, 1R/0ER, 1BB, 10K) in two games (one start)…Was promoted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on 8/3 and went 7-0 with a 2.87 ERA (53.1IP, 41H, 19R/17ER, 11BB, 65K, 5HR) in 10 starts...Was added to the Yankees’ 40-man roster on 11/19.
2020
Did not pitch due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2019
Made 13 appearances (six starts) with Single-A Tampa, going 4-4 with one save and a 4.07 ERA (48.2IP, 41H, 23R/22ER, 16BB, 45K, 3HR).
2018
Spent the entire season with Single-A Charleston, going 1-5 with a 2.67 ERA (54.0IP, 38H, 19R/16ER, 11BB, 54K, 7HR) in 11 games (10 starts).
2017
In his professional debut, combined with short-season Single-A Everett and Single-A Clinton, going 1-2 with three saves and a 0.65 ERA (27.2IP, 13H, 6R/2ER, 12BB, 51K, 0HR) in 17 relief appearances…posted a 16.59 K/9.0IP ratio...Was tabbed a Mariners Organization All-Star by MiLB.com...Began the season with short-season Single-A Everett, going 1-1 with a 1.69 ERA (10.2IP, 6H, 4R/2ER, 3BB, 22K) in seven relief appearances...Was promoted to Single-A Clinton on 7/21 and went 0-1 with three saves without allowing an earned run (17.0IP, 7H, 2R/0ER, 9BB, 29K, 0HR) in 10 relief appearances...Was acquired by the Yankees from the Seattle Mariners along with RHP Juan Then in exchange for RHP Nick Rumbelow on 11/18.
