The Athletics have designated righty Zach Neal for assignment, per a club announcement. His roster spot will go to third baseman Trevor Plouffe, whose one-year deal is now official.
Neal, 28, made his MLB debut last year, throwing 70 innings of 4.24 ERA ball over six starts and 18 relief appearances. Though he managed only 27 strikeouts, he also permitted just six walks in that stretch while relying on a variety of fastballs (including a cutter sometimes classified as a slider), a change, and a little-used curve.
A noted control artist in the minors, Neal has worked mostly as a starter over his professional career. Over parts of three seasons at Triple-A, he has compiled a 3.95 ERA with 5.5 K/9 and 1.3 BB/9.
Don’t know what this his ground/fly ball splits look like, but it sounds like someone the Reds should take a flyer on. Good control. As long as he isnt prone to the fly ball he could fit in nicely with what they are looking for.
How about it Rangers
He looked pretty good last season in the bigs, I wouldn’t expect him to last long on the DFA pile and Oakland may be even to work a trade for him, being that his stuff was playing pretty well and there will be multiple teams wanting him.
Seems like the type of the pitcher the Royals would be willing to pick up