Oakland Athletics fans, freak out – Barry Zito will be wearing the green and gold in the majors to close out 2015 after Oakland called him up on Wednesday.
#Athletics select Barry Zito from Nashville, recall Cody Martin from Nashville, place Jesse Chavez on the 60-day DL
— Oakland A's (@Athletics) September 16, 2015
Zito came up through the minors with Oakland and was a rotation stalwart with them through 2006, winning the 2002 AL Cy Young award along the way. He signed a seven-year, $126 million contract with the Giants before the 2007 season, and his career took a downward turn. Zito never posted an ERA under 4.00 with the Giants and never pitched 200 innings with the club either.
After taking 2014 off, Zito signed a minor league deal with the A’s for the 2015 season. He’s spent the year with AAA Nashville, and in 138 innings, he’s pitched to a 3.46 ERA, striking out 91 and walking 60.
The 37-year old is getting a chance to (perhaps) end his career where it began, and that’s pretty cool – even if the A’s aren’t in the AL playoff race and Zito won’t be a contributor to the team in a long-term capacity.
