MESA, Ariz. -- The Oakland A's agreed to terms with free agent right-handed pitcher Trevor Cahill on a one-year contract, the club announced today. To clear a spot on the 40-man roster the A's placed right-handed pitcher Jharel Cotton on the 60-day disabled list. Cotton was diagnosed with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament on his right elbow and will undergo surgery on Wednesday.
Cahill began the 2017 season with San Diego and was 4-3 with a 3.69 ERA in 11 starts when he was traded to Kansas City on July 24 with Ryan Buchter and Brandon Maurer for Matt Strahm, Travis Wood, Esteury Ruiz and cash considerations. Cahill went 0-0 with an 8.22 ERA in 10 games, three starts, with the Royals and combined for a 4-3 record and a 4.93 ERA in 21 games, 14 starts. The 30-year-old right-hander struck out 87 batters in 84.0 innings.
Cahill was originally selected by Oakland in the second round of the 2006 draft and made his Major League debut with the A's in 2009 at the age of 21. He compiled a 40-35 record and a 3.91 ERA in 96 games, all starts, in three seasons with Oakland, including an All-Star selection in 2010. Cahill was traded to Arizona following the 2011 season with Craig Breslow for Ryan Cook, Collin Cowgill and Jarrod Parker and has gone 33-44 with a 4.29 ERA in 187 games, 92 starts, since then with Arizona (2012-14), Atlanta (2015), Chicago-NL (2015-16), San Diego (2017) and Kansas City (2017). He is 73-79 with a 4.11 ERA in 281 games, 188 starts, in his nine-year career.
Cotton was 0-1 with a 3.75 ERA in four games, including three starts, this spring. He held the opposition to a .195 batting average and had 16 strikeouts in 12.0 innings. The 26-year-old right-hander went 9-10 with a 5.58 ERA in 24 starts over two stints with the A's last year.