Trevor Cahill is staying in the AL West, but it won't be in Oakland.
The former A's starting pitcher has agreed to a one-year deal with the Angels, according to multiple national reports. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic was first to report the news.
Source: #Angels sign free-agent RHP Trevor Cahill to one year, $9M contract. Incentives can push it to $10.5M.— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 20, 2018
Cahill, 30, was a bit of a pleasant surprise for the A's in 2018 with a 7-4 record and 3.76 ERA. He was behind just Edwin Jackson and Seana Manaea for the team lead in ERA amongst starters in his second stint in Oakland.
Looking at his ERA doesn't tell the whole story of Cahill's 2018 season, as there were two sides to the right-hander: Home Trevor Cahill and Away Trevor Cahill. Pitching in Oakland, he was 5-1 with a 1.84 ERA, but on the road, his ERA rocketed to 6.41 with a 2-3 record.
This is the second signing of a veteran starting pitcher in three days by the Angels. On Tuesday, they added Matt Harvey on a one-year deal as well.
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The A's were said to have interest in bringing Cahill back, but $9 million with the chance at earning another $1.5 million from incentives was probably too much for the A's.
Starting pitching remains the team's biggest need as their rotation is virtually barren at this point. Once healthy though, the A's do feel good about their organizational depth.
"We feel really good about the depth we have," A's manager Bob Melvin said at the Winter Meetings. "Now, granted, a lot of these guys are hurt right now, and you never really know how you're going to respond. But there's a whole host of guys who are going to be back (between) spring training (and) the end of the year that we're really excited about."
