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Barry Zito Eyeing Comeback In 2015

By Steve Adams | November 13, 2014 at 10:44pm CDT

After sitting out the 2014 season, left-hander Barry Zito is looking to make a comeback in 2015, agent Scott Boras told John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle last month (Twitter link). At this week’s GM Meetings, Boras told reporters, including ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick: “[Zito] called me on the phone in August and said, ’I’m ready to go. I want to pitch.’ He set up the plan and did all of that.”

Zito, the 2002 American League Cy Young Award winner, signed an infamous seven-year, $126MM contract with the Giants that quickly went south and became one of the game’s larger albatrosses (though that didn’t stop the Giants from winning a pair of World Series Championships during the life of the deal). Zito posted a 4.62 ERA in 1139 1/3 innings for the Giants over that seven-year term — a far cry from the 3.55 mark the lefty notched in his seven seasons with Oakland.

In his career, Zito has pitched to a 4.02 ERA with 6.6 K/9, 3.7 BB/9 and a 37.9 percent ground-ball rate. Though he was never a hard-thrower — the highest single-season average fastball velocity of his career was 87.3 mph in 2005 — Zito’s velocity dipped to dangerously low levels late in his tenure with the Giants and bottomed out at just 83.2 mph in 2013.

Zito, who will turn 37 next May, would almost certainly have to settle for a minor league deal, but his experience and past success could be intriguing to some teams looking for rotation depth.

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46 Comments

  1. Bounded

    11 years ago

    I’m sure someone will give him a shot, Look at Bartolo Colon. He looked finished a few years ago & he was able to find the fountain of youth & rejuvenate his career.

    Reply
    • Daniel Morairity

      11 years ago

      The only question is where would zito go

      Reply
      • Scott Berlin

        11 years ago

        Phillies.

        Edit: or Red Sox.

        Reply
        • Daniel Morairity

          11 years ago

          Phillies might not sign him they have too many issues to deal with but the red Sox won’t sign him

          Reply
          • NotCanon

            11 years ago

            The Phillies would sign him to a MiLB deal, worth maybe a couple-million if he sticks on the 25-man. If Zito can do as well as Kendrick, for 1/4 the price? Worth it.

            Honestly, it might work well from Zito’s standpoint too, since he’s unlikely to see MLB action on most teams unless he has a stellar ST.

            Reply
            • Daniel Morairity

              11 years ago

              Well first of all they would have three lefties in the there rotation

              Cole Hamels
              Cliff Lee
              Barry Zito

              Not sure though about Kendrick he’s gone for sure

              Reply
              • NotCanon

                11 years ago

                Yeah, but Hamels and Lee are both lefties who do well against RHB, so that’s not really as big a deal. Unless Lee is terrible post-rehab, in which case it doesn’t matter who he’s facing.

                Right now the rotation is Hamels, Lee, Williams, Buchanan, ??? (probably Pettibone if they don’t sign someone else). I’m sure they’d love to move Buchanan back down to LHV for another year as insurance against another injury, and I’m reasonably sure they’d prefer to leave Nola in the minors until at least August (if only to save on his service time).

                If Zito can give them a Kendrick-esque line (4.45 ERA, ~180 IP) for under $4MM, then that’s a worthwhile investment on a 1-year deal, given the current state of the team.

                Reply
                • Daniel Morairity

                  11 years ago

                  Cliff Lee
                  Cole Hamels
                  Jerome Williams
                  Barry Zito
                  David Buchann

                  Reply
                  • NotCanon

                    11 years ago

                    Based on Williams’ historical track record, I think he’ll pretty quickly end up as the #5. Buchanan will probably regress, which would make #4 a reasonable estimation for him (assuming you’re optimistic).

                    However, I’m sure they’d want to break up the lefties a bit, so I could see them putting Williams or Buchanan before Zito (in that hypothetical situation). However, Zito could quickly play himself into a starting role in Lehigh, so he’s only getting a MiLB deal, which gives them some money to sign a legitimate #3 instead (which would also let them stash Buchanan in Lehigh if Zito has a good ST).

                    Reply
                    • Daniel Morairity

                      11 years ago

                      What’s your rotation for this team

                      Reply
                      • NotCanon

                        11 years ago

                        Hamels, Lee, (1-3-year-FA/Trade Target), Williams (1-year FA/Buchanan). Pettibone is AAA depth, and preferably Buchanan is as well, since Lee’s got question marks.

                        Nola serves as depth-of-last-resort, and/or an August/September call-up.

                        Reply
                        • Daniel Morairity

                          11 years ago

                          What about zito

                          Reply
                          • NotCanon

                            11 years ago

                            If they get him, and he performs well enough to get a roster slot, he probably takes the 1-year FA slot.

                            Reply
                            • Daniel Morairity

                              11 years ago

                              What’s your rotation with zito in it now

                              Reply
                              • NotCanon

                                11 years ago

                                Well, they really need to sign one more legitimate middle-rotation pitcher, because otherwise they BP is going to break down from all the innings they’ll be throwing. However, assuming some sort of roster freeze, where we have to go with what we have…

                                Hamels, Lee, Buchanan, Williams/Zito, Zito/Williams. Pettibone is #6, Nola is #7.

                                Reply
                                • Daniel Morairity

                                  11 years ago

                                  Good rotation now would you resign Mike Adams

                                  Reply
                                  • NotCanon

                                    11 years ago

                                    Ehhh… That’s a non-contending rotation, all told. It’s acceptable given their goals of working through salary and putting a team on the field, but they’re not going to win many games.

                                    Adams gets re-signed if he offers to work for under $1MM (only reason I’d think that is he claims he felt he was stealing money because of his injury). Otherwise, no. Too big an injury risk, not enough upside, and our BP has enough promising guys without him.

                                    Reply
                                    • Daniel Morairity

                                      11 years ago

                                      Will the Phillies ever rebuild

                                      Reply
                                      • NotCanon

                                        11 years ago

                                        They’re doing that right now. The longest contract they’ve signed since the 2012 season is the 2+1 deal that Byrd has. That’s a sign that they’re not scrambling to sign top FAs.

                                        They also haven’t traded significant prospects for any player since Revere, and Trevor May was looking like he was going to flop then (he proceeded to do well in AAA this year, but atrociously in 9 starts with the Twins this year – he’s young, so he could improve, but I think those have to be considered unlikely).

                                        Most teams can’t rebuild simply by shipping off all their stars for blue-chip prospects. Even the Marlins didn’t manage that after their WS wins, and their guys weren’t all that expensive.

                                        Reply
                                        • Daniel Morairity

                                          11 years ago

                                          Can’t they get rickie weeks in free agency as a backup second baseman for Utley

                                          Reply
                                          • NotCanon

                                            11 years ago

                                            Doubtful (since he’d probably want more playing time), but why would you want to? He’s 32, so he’ll be 34-35 by the time the team’s ready to compete again. His fielding is worse than Utley. His bat is possibly better, but definitely hasn’t been over the past three years (his 2014 was better, but not by nearly as much as his 2013 and 2012 were worse). He’s also pretty much limited to two positions (2B, 1B), both of which are blocked by bigger contracts.

                                            He’s also hitting FA during a year without many legitimate 2B options on the market, and so he’s likely to command a 2-to-3-year deal worth at least $8-10MM/year. They’ve got plenty of utility infielders (RAJ loves ’em), and they’ve got a couple of potential back-up options (Galvis and Cesar Hernandez) already who’re making nothing.

                                            Reply
                                            • Daniel Morairity

                                              11 years ago

                                              I mean it’s not like the brew crew can resign him he has to go somewhere and phillie would be a good fit in my opinion

                                              Reply
                                              • NotCanon

                                                11 years ago

                                                The Brewers could certainly re-sign him, but even if not there aren’t many good 2B options in FA this year. There are a number of teams interested in getting a 2B, and I’m sure Weeks would want to play more than 50 games/year anyway.

                                                He’s also liable to be too expensive to be a backup on a team like the current Phillies, and want a multi-year commitment. Considering they just signed Chase to a deal that could last through 2018 (with each year predicated on PAs from the previous year), they’re probably not looking to sign a high-priced player to serve as a backup. Utley’s AAV is $15MM for the life of his new contract. No need to devote $20-23 to a 2B when you’re not contending.

                                                Reply
                                                • Daniel Morairity

                                                  11 years ago

                                                  Would the Phillies sign rickie weeks as a backup to chase Utley if the bre cre can’t resign him

                                                  Reply
                                                  • NotCanon

                                                    11 years ago

                                                    Not at $5-8MM/year on a multi-year deal.

                                                    Reply
                                                    • Daniel Morairity

                                                      11 years ago

                                                      Could you give him a one year contract

                                                      Reply
                                                      • Marc

                                                        11 years ago

                                                        Incentive of +$5MM if he can have a fastball average over 85mph and start 20 games. Safe bet there.

                                                        Reply
        • Marc

          11 years ago

          The guy isn’t Tim Wakefield or Greg Maddux. 83mph fastball isn’t going to cut it from a “normal” style pitcher, even in high school. Tracy McGrady was better than Barry Zito within the past five years…

          Reply
          • Scott Berlin

            11 years ago

            Mike Mussina thrived on low speed pitches and won 20 games his last season. The oldest person to do so. But Philly desperately needs starting pitching depth and Boston has been known to take on reclamation projects like Brad Penny and John Smoltz for example plus as cheap as the Sox have been this might be right up their alley.

            Reply
            • Marc

              11 years ago

              Brad Penny wasn’t 37 when he was a project, and Smoltz is a HOF player. Zito wasn’t good since 2002.

              Reply
        • tomb1313

          11 years ago

          The Braves –where he would get a invite to ST and has a good chance of winning a spot.

          Reply
  2. The 1 behind the 1 in 21-1

    11 years ago

    Lefty w/ one of the more gorgeous curveballs, someone will bite. I don’t see him as a starter, but maybe he can transition into the bullpen.

    Reply
  3. JJ 3

    11 years ago

    only as a RP

    Reply
  4. SanFranPanda

    11 years ago

    2015 Scouting Report: 73 mph fastball and 50 mph curveball

    Reply
    • NotCanon

      11 years ago

      Jamie Moyer tells him to speed up.

      Reply
  5. Bradley Maravalli

    11 years ago

    Cubs should sign Zito then trade him midseason for prospects. Seems to be a working philosophy for them.

    Reply
    • NYM_Lagares

      11 years ago

      Its a working philosophy if he’s actually worth something and the Cubs probably wouldn’t sign him since they’re actually looking to compete for once.

      Reply
  6. disadvantage 2

    11 years ago

    A Barry Zito comeback would be sweet!

    By sweet I mean like sugar, and by sugar I mean he’ll probably end up on the Sugarland Skeeters.

    Reply
  7. Jeffy25

    11 years ago

    What is his Velosity at now?

    I dunno how badly teams are going to go for him, considering he won’t have value any differently than Moyer did in his last year.

    I can see a minor league deal if he still has good command and decent break. But his lack of Velosity could be an issue

    Reply
  8. Dynasty22

    11 years ago

    He could be a LOOGY. That’s probably all.

    Reply
  9. ray_derek

    11 years ago

    Sounds like a Jed/Theo pickup to me.

    Reply
  10. Rally Weimaraner

    11 years ago

    Angels will take him on a minor league deal. The Angels have to adopt the New Colossus approach to pitching depth:

    Give me your tired, your poor,
    Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
    The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
    Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
    Give me your old, your slow, your cheap, because we are poor.

    Reply
  11. douglasb

    11 years ago

    minor league deal with the Yankees? maybe he fills a spot as a 6th inning lefty?

    Reply
  12. Cole Hoppmann

    11 years ago

    go to the Cardinals need a LH help in the bullpen rather get him instead of one asking for more money

    Reply
    • Marc

      11 years ago

      If the Cardinals get Zito, they’ll still need LH help in the bullpen.

      Reply
  13. Austin 10

    11 years ago

    if he changes his game the right way and stays healthy he could be a Jamie Moyer type pitcher.

    Reply

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