Barry Zito and the Oakland Athletics are reuniting.
The team announced Zito has been signed to a minor league deal:
The San Francisco Chronicle‘s Susan Slusser initially reported the news on Monday.
CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman added some monetary details:
Zito commented on the news, via Slusser: “I just want to pitch. I love baseball. I want to enjoy the game…I’ll let my pitching speak for itself—or not speak for itself. Talk is cheap. We’ll see what happens when it happens.”
Zito, a first-round pick by the A’s in 1999, spent seven seasons with the team, compiling 102 wins, a 3.55 ERA and 1.25 WHIP. He won the Cy Young Award in 2002 and was named to three All-Star Games, serving as a crucial piece on some very good Athletics ballclubs.
Still, expectations will obviously have to be tempered.
Zito, who failed to live up to a massive contract with the San Francisco Giants, last pitched in 2013, when he went 5-11 with a 5.74 ERA, 1.70 WHIP and a career-worst 11.7 hits allowed per nine innings.
Perhaps the lefty’s year off will help him enjoy a career revival, but ultimately, it’s going to be difficult for the 36-year-old to crack a spot in the starting rotation.
Still, it’s a low-risk move for Oakland, and it brings a fan favorite back home.
Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference unless noted otherwise.
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