The A's pitching rotation got a little deeper Tuesday with the announcement that right-handers Brandon McCarthy and Joey Devine signed one-year contracts, thus avoiding arbitration.
McCarthy will make 4.275 in 2012 and Devine 737,500, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Both pitchers are hoping to prove they can avoid injury. McCarthy has been hampered by shoulder problems, missing significant parts of 2007, 2009 and 2010 with stress fractures in his shoulder. Devine is coming off Tommy John surgery and missed the 2010 and 2009 seasons.
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Official press release:
The Oakland As agreed to terms with right-handed pitchers Brandon McCarthy and Joey Devine on one-year contracts for the 2012 season, the club announced today. McCarthy and Devine were the final two arbitration-eligible players on the As roster.
McCarthy had the best season of his six-year Major League career with the As last year as he was 9-9 with a 3.32 ERA in 25 starts. He posted career highs in wins, starts, complete games (5), innings pitched (170.2) and strikeouts (123) and career lows in ERA, opponents on-base percentage (.281) and opponents slugging percentage (.377). With 123 strikeouts and just 25 walks, he set an Athletics record for strikeout-to-walk ratio with a mark of 4.92. McCarthys average of 1.32 walks per nine innings was second-lowest in As history. The 28-year-old right-hander went 8-4 with a 3.15 ERA in 14 starts after the All-Star Break, tying for third in the American League in post-break wins and ranking eighth in ERA.
Devine returned to the majors for the first time in three seasons last year after missing the 2009 and 2010 seasons following Tommy John surgery. He began the season at Triple-A Sacramento but was recalled by Oakland May 20. Devine posted a 1-1 record and a 3.52 ERA in 26 relief appearances with the As before he was sent back to Sacramento July 27. The 28-year-old right-hander finished the season with the River Cats and was 4-0 with three saves and a 4.24 ERA in 23 appearances overall with Sacramento.