| Neal Cotts | |
|---|---|
 Cotts with the Minnesota Twins in 2015 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: (1980-03-25)March 25, 1980 (age 45) Lebanon, Illinois, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| August 12, 2003, for the Chicago White Sox | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 3, 2015, for the Minnesota Twins | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 21–24 |
| Earned run average | 3.96 |
| Strikeouts | 421 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Neal James Cotts (born March 25, 1980) is an American former professionalbaseballpitcher. He played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) for theChicago White Sox,Chicago Cubs,Texas Rangers,Milwaukee Brewers, andMinnesota Twins.
Cotts attendedIllinois State University where he won first-team All-Missouri Valley Conference honors and was named to the ABCA All-Midwest Region team. He was drafted by theOakland Athletics 69th overall in the 2nd round of the 2001 draft, becoming the second highest player drafted in the history of Illinois State. Cotts finished his collegiate career ranked fifth all-time in school history instrikeouts with 263 in just three seasons with the Redbirds.
Cotts spent the 2002 season at Single-AModesto of theCalifornia League,winning 12 games in 28starts. During the off-season, he was traded to theChicago White Sox in a six-player deal involvingrelief pitchersBilly Koch andKeith Foulke. Cotts began the 2003 season ranked as the number three prospect in the White Sox farm system. He started his year at Double-ABirmingham, of theSouthern League, going 9–6 with a 2.12ERA and 131 strikeouts. In July 2003, he started for the United States in Major League Baseball'sFutures Game.
Cotts made his Major League debut for Chicago on August 12, 2003, when he started against theAnaheim Angels. He pitched 2.1innings and allowed tworuns, twohits, and sixwalks. He received a no-decision in the game. On August 22, he won his first game when he pitched five innings and allowed five hits against theTexas Rangers. He ended the season with a record of 1–1 and an 8.10 ERA.
In 2004, new managerOzzie Guillén inserted Cotts into the bullpen. He finished April with a 0.90 ERA, but from May–July had an ERA of 8.28. He finished the season with 65.1 innings pitched, a 4–4 record, and an ERA of 5.65. On June 18, he got his first major league hit, adouble, offLuis Ayala of theMontreal Expos.
In 2005, Cotts went 4–0 while appearing in 69 games, throwing 60.1 innings, compiling a 1.94 ERA, striking out 58, and yielding just 1home run. MLB.com awarded him the "Setup Man of the Year Award", an award determined by fan voting. In theAmerican League Championship Series, he was the only White Sox reliever to appear in Chicago's 4–1 series win, throwing 2/3 of an inning in Game 1. Cotts pitched in all four games of theWorld Series and was the winning pitcher in Game 2.
On November 16, 2006, Cotts was traded to theChicago Cubs for relief pitcherDavid Aardsma and minor league pitcherCarlos Vásquez. On May 21, 2007, the Cubs optioned Cotts to the Triple–AIowa Cubs, recalling left-handed pitcherSean Marshall.
On December 13, 2007, the Cubs re-signed Cotts to a one-year contract for $800,000.[1] He began the 2008 season in Triple–A, as he'd ended the previous season. He would be recalled from Triple–A, however, in May and remained with Cubs as their primary left handed reliever after the club had traded away veteran pitcherScott Eyre.
In 2009, Cotts started with the Cubs, but was demoted to the team's Triple–A minor league Iowa club in May. On June 24, he felt a sharp pain while pitching for Iowa, and his season was over with an elbow ligament injury. He underwent successfulTommy John surgery in July 2009.[2] He was non-tendered on December 12 and became a free agent.
On January 4, 2010, Cotts signed a minor league contract with thePittsburgh Pirates with an invite to spring training. In June, he had the first of four surgeries on his hip ending his comeback bid for the season. On September 17, the Pirates released him.
On November 22, 2010, Cotts signed a minor league contract with theNew York Yankees that included an invitation to 2011 spring training.[3][4][5] Due to the results of his physical, the Yankees released him on February 16, 2011.[6] For the second straight season, he did not pitch professionally.
Cotts signed with theTexas Rangers and was in contention in spring training to return to the Major Leagues, but suffered an arm strain injury. He finally appeared in a professional game for the first time since 2009 on June 11, 2012, pitching for theTexas Rangers' Triple-A affiliateRound Rock. He finished the season with Round Rock posting a 4.55 ERA with 3 saves while striking out 41 in 31.2 innings.
On November 12, 2012, Cotts signed a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training to return to the Rangers organization.[7] He failed to make the Rangers out of spring training in 2013 and rejoined Round Rock. He posted a 0.78 ERA with a 3–1 record and was promoted to the Rangers on May 21, 2013.[8] After a nearly four-year absence from the Major Leagues, he threw six pitches against theOakland Athletics on May 21. His agent Joe Bick said, "When he went back to the mound that first time, I had a lump the size of a softball in my throat."[9] Cotts said of his return to the Major Leagues, "There's a point where you go through all of it where you don't know if you're ever going to play again; I never was really accepting of that."[10] He became a left-handed specialist for the Rangers' bullpen. However, Cotts had better platoon splits against right-handed batters than left-handed batters after joining the Rangers. In 2013, he held opposing right-handed batters to a .436on-base plus slugging (OPS) percentage while left-handed hitters had a .565 OPS.
Cotts returned to the Rangers in 2014 and pitched in a career-high 73 games. However, he was not as effective as he was the year before. He was granted free agency after the season and was not re-signed by the club.
On January 29, 2015, Cotts signed a one-year, $3 million contract with theMilwaukee Brewers.[11] On August 21, Cotts was traded to theMinnesota Twins in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations.[12] In 68 appearances split between the Brewers and Twins, he was 1–0 with a 3.41 ERA in63+1⁄3 innings while striking out 8.2 and walking 3.1 per nine innings.
On February 26, 2016, Cotts signed a minor league contract with theHouston Astros. He was released in March and signed a minor league contract with theLos Angeles Angels of Anaheim,[13] where he began the year with the Triple-ASalt Lake Bees. On May 17, he exercised an opt-out clause in his contract and became a free agent.[14]
On May 20, 2016, Cotts signed a minor league contract with theNew York Yankees and was assigned to theScranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.[15]
On June 20, 2016, Cotts signed a minor league contract to return to theTexas Rangers organization.[16] In 20 relief outings for the Triple–ARound Rock Express, he recorded a 3.80 ERA with 23 strikeouts across23+2⁄3 innings pitched. Cotts elected free agency following the season on November 7.[17]
On January 13, 2017, Cotts signed a minor league deal with theWashington Nationals.[16] In 52 relief outings for the Triple–ASyracuse Chiefs, he posted a 3.94 ERA with 57 strikeouts and 2 saves in 48.0 innings of work. Cotts elected free agency following the season on November 6.[18]
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