Chicago Cubs Sign Former A's Reliever to MLB Deal
The Chicago Cubs are signing former Oakland A's right-hander Vinny Nittoli to a major league deal, per Jeff Passan of ESPN. Nittoli, 33, signed with the A's on a minor-league deal last November and was called up to the big leagues to pitch for his hometown team at the beginning of June.
Nittoli made it into seven games for Oakland, holding a 2.25 ERA with a 1.25 WHIP across eight innings. The team designated him for assignment on June 21, and the righty elected free agency.
Now he will be joining the Cubs, who have already hit on a recently DFA'd pitcher this season, bringing aboard Tyson Miller after he'd been designated for assignment by the Seattle Mariners. In 16 2/3 innings with Chicago, Miller holds a 1.62 ERA and a 0.60 WHIP since the middle of May.
Mark Leiter Jr. landed on the IL recently, and adding Nittoli provides the Cubs with another veteran right-hander that they can call upon.
The Cubs' starting rotation holds a 3.62 ERA, good for ninth in baseball. Their bullpen ranks 24th in ERA this year with a 4.52. They're looking for upside, and Nittoli may be able to provide some of that. His main offering is a cutter that he throws 54% of the time that sits at 90 miles per hour. His second most-used pitch is his sweeper at 82 mph, which he's thrown 32% of the time.
The combination of those two offerings has allowed him to keep the ball off the barrel in a small sample size, giving up just one barrel in 25 batted balls.
In his time with the A's, Nittoli's warm-up music was the theme song to the TV show "The Sopranos" which could lead to the fans in Chicago latching onto him if he continues to use it and continues to miss barrels.
More A's News:
JASON BURKE
Jason is the host of the Locked on A's podcast, and the managing editor of Inside the A's. He's a new father and can't wait to take his son to his first baseball game at the Coliseum.