Athletics pitcher Jharel Cotton to have Tommy John surgery and miss the entire 2018 season after tearing ligament.
The pitcher will have Tommy John surgery, prompting the return of Cahill to add depth
MESA, ARIZ. >> After losing a piece of their future Saturday, the A’s reached into their past, reportedly signing free agent pitcher Trevor Cahill.
Cahill, 30, will compete for the rotation spot left open when Jharel Cotton was ruled out for the season after learning Saturday morning he would need to undergo Tommy John surgery to repair a torn UCL (ulnar collateral ligament) in his right elbow. MLB. com’s Jane Lee reported the agreement between the A’s and Cahill is a oneyear major league deal.
A’s executive vice president Billy Beane had told beat reporters just hours before the deal that the club was already working the phones looking to add perhaps multiple arms to provide assistance to the depleted pitching staff.
“We need some candidates. There’s just not very much depth at all,” Beane said. “It was a concern coming in, you just don’t want it to reveal itself this soon.”
Cahill was drafted by the A’s in 2006 and played three seasons with the club. He made the American League All-Star team in 2010 before getting traded to the
Diamondbacks along with reliever Craig Breslow for Jarrod Parker, Ryan Cook, and Collin Cowgill following the 2011 season.
In 21 games with the Padres and Royals as a starter and reliever last season, Cahill combined to go 4-3 with a 4.93 ERA, registering 87 strikeouts and 45 walks over 84 innings pitched.
It remains to be seen how long it takes Cahill to get into in-game shape and unknown if he will be ready by Opening Day. Andrew Triggs was the pitcher expected to fill Cotton’s spot, but Cahill figures to slot into the starting rotation at some point as that veteran pitcher Beane had talked about adding.
In nine seasons in the big leagues, Cahill is 73-79 with a 4.11 ERA in 283 career games.
Cotton, who was acquired from the Dodgers in a trade for Josh Reddick and Rich Hill in 2016, will undergo the surgery at some point next week with Dr. Keith Meister in Dallas, causing his
promising spring to come an abrupt.
The news comes as a huge blow for the A’s. Struggling to find consistency from their starters this spring, Cotton, 26, had looked to be developing into somewhat of a reliable piece for manager Bob Melvin. He posted a 3.75 ERA with 16 strikeouts and just six walks through 12 innings of work as he looked to bounce back from a poor 2017 season.
“It’s Unfortunate,” Melvin said. “Just for him having to go through what a lot of guys have to go through. We felt like he was on the cusp of coming into his own. It’s just gonna be delayed a year.”
Top pitching prospect A.J. Puk also remains in big league camp. Though the belief from most was that the A’s would avoid beginning the season with Puk in the rotation and wait until June in order to have an extra year of control, Beane shot that notion down. He said service time with players has never been an issue with the club, pointing out Huston Street, Brett Anderson, and Cahill as examples of calling guys up early. It’s more about making sure Puk is ready for the big leagues.
“Go look at our history. We take guys out of A-ball. It’s never been an issue here. It means nothing to me,” Beane said. “We don’t have enough depth to start manipulating and playing with things like that. To worry about something six years from now or three years from now, that doesn’t come into play with us.”
Puk was dominant through his first three outings of the spring before getting touched up for four runs in a start against the Mariners Thursday night in which he lasted just 2 2/3 innings. Despite the bad outing, Puk has still been the most impressive starter in camp.
When asked if Puk truly has a legitimate shot at cracking the starting rotation out of spring, Beane didn’t shoot down, but he did make it clear they would prefer not to go down that road.
“Do I think it’s ideal to call upon a kid who’s had half a year at Double-A? No,” Beane said. “You gotta be careful in spring training when making evaluations. He had a bit of a stumble the other night. But the preferred route is not to jump a kid after a half
year in Double-A. It’s not always the one you have the option of taking.”
Fellow starting pitcher Sean Manaea, projected to be the A’s No. 2 starter, was down about the news on Cotton. But he believes the A’s have enough depth to withstand the loss going forward.
“It sucks,” Manaea said. “He’s gonna come back and hopefully things will work out with no setbacks. Losing him is a pretty tough blow, but I know we’ve got guys who are gonna step up and fill in his spot.”
With pitchers Daniel Coulombe, Chris Bassitt, and Triggs all having gone through elbow surgery, Cot- ton has no shortage of resources in the clubhouse for guidance as he embarks on the journey of what will be a long rehab process.
Cotton said he’s already been asking them about what they went through, giving him some form of comfort.
“It’s tough. I’m missing the 2018 season with my boys, so it’s kind of hard to take in,” Cotton said. “I’m trying to take it as best as I can and get ready for the long road ahead to come back strong next season.”