Oakland Athletics Face Tough Decision About Barry Zito
It really is amazing that I’m writing this given the fact that Barry Zito was out of baseball in 2014 and considered retired. But in classic Billy Beane fashion he extended a helping hand to his former Cy Young award winner and gave Zito life again.
Now the Oakland Athletics face a tough decision about Barry Zito.
What to do with him?
More from Oakland A's News
- Zach Logue yet another disappointing Oakland A’s trade return
- Luis Barrera heading to familiar foe in Los Angeles Angels
- San Francisco Giants showing Oakland A’s offseason could be worse
- Lucas Luetge what Oakland A’s need in bullpen
- Oakland A’s bring Deolis Guerra back on minor league deal
His first couple outings this spring were a mixed bag. After retiring a few batters with ease it seemed as if hitters figured something out, or Zito perhaps ran out of gas, or maybe he didn’t make the necessary adjustments. After initial success Zito would get tagged for a run or more.
After yesterday’s outing Zito has the A’s — and I’m sure other clubs — scratching their heads.
He threw three perfect innings versus the Los Angeles Dodgers, racking up five strikeouts. However, the only “big league” hitter he faced was Chris Heisey, it was an encouraging outing.
No real A’s fan would tell you they want Zito to fail, but nobody really expected much from the 36-year-old this spring and now he may be forcing manager Bob Melvin’s hand.
“That was real bite on his curve ball there,” Melvin told CSN Bay Area’s Joe Stiglich. “He’s locating his fastball now. He seems to have a little more zip on it. And now all of a sudden the changeup is an effective pitch. He’s throwing it in any count. That shows when you come into camp in good shape , in a good frame of mind … You take a year off … It’s pretty impressive what he’s doing.”
I think it is still a long shot that Zito opens the season in the Athletics rotation. But his resurgence does give the team options. He could open as the team’s fifth starter allowing one of the younger arms to open in the minors, delaying their service-time clock, and hopefully provide a month’s worth of useful innings.
Odds are he has impressed other clubs as well, one’s who need pitching — the Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies come to mind —and Beane can even make a trade.
The team has options with Zito. Maybe, as Stiglich suggests, Zito could be used in the pen as a long reliever. Regardless of what happens — with two weeks left of camp a lot can happen — it has been fun to watch Zito attempt a comeback with the A’s.