| Neal Cotts | |
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| Chicago Cubs — No. 48 | |
| Relief pitcher | |
| Born: March 25, 1980 Lebanon, Illinois |
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| Bats: Left | Throws: Left |
| MLB debut | |
| August 12, 2003 for the Chicago White Sox | |
| Career statistics (through September 17, 2009) |
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| Win-Loss | 10-12 |
| Earned run average | 4.63 |
| Strikeouts | 235 |
| Teams | |
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| Career highlights and awards | |
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Neal James Cotts (born March 25, 1980 in Lebanon, Illinois) is a left-handed Major League Baseball pitcher for the Chicago Cubs.
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College career
Cotts attended Illinois State University, and won first-team All-Missouri Valley Conference honors and was named to the ABCA All-Midwest Region team. He was drafted by the Oakland Athletics 69th overall in the 2nd round of the 2001 draft, becoming the second highest player drafted in the history of Illinois State. Neal finished his collegiate career ranked fifth all-time in strikeouts with 263 in just three seasons with the Redbirds.
Pro career
Cotts spent the 2002 season at Single-A Modesto of the California League, winning 12 games in 28 starts. Over the off-season, Cotts was traded to the Chicago White Sox in a six-player deal involving relief pitchers Billy Koch and Keith Foulke.
Cotts began the 2003 season ranked as the number three prospect in the White Sox farm system. He started his year at Double-A Birmingham, of the Southern League, going 9-6 with a 2.12 ERA, and 131 strikeouts. In July 2003, Cotts started for the United States in Major League Baseball's Futures Game. He debuted for Chicago on August 12, 2003, starting against the Anaheim Angels and pitched 2.1 innings, allowing two runs, two hits and six walks. He received a no-decision in the game. On August 22, Cotts won his first game against the Texas Rangers, pitching five innings and allowing five hits. Cotts ended the season with a record of 1-1 and an 8.10 ERA.
In 2004, new manager Ozzie Guillén inserted Cotts into the bullpen. Cotts 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, Cotts got his first major league hit, a double, off Luis Ayala of the Montreal Expos.
In 2005, Cotts went 4-0 while appearing in 69 games, throwing 60.1 innings and compiling a 1.94 ERA, 58 strikeouts, and yielding just 1 home run. MLB.com awarded Cotts the "Setup Man of the Year Award", an award determined by fan voting. In the American League Championship Series, Cotts was the only person to pitch out of the bullpen in the Sox 4-1 series win, throwing 2/3 of an inning in Game 1. Cotts pitched in all four games of the World Series and was the winning pitcher Game 2.
On November 16, 2006, Cotts was traded to the Chicago Cubs for relief pitcher David Aardsma and minor league pitcher Carlos Vasquez.
On May 21, 2007, the Cubs optioned Cotts to Triple-A Iowa, recalling left-handed pitcher Sean Marshall.
On December 13, 2007, the Cubs re-signed Cotts to a one-year contract for $800,000.[1] Cotts began the 2008 season in AAA, as he'd ended the previous season. He would be recalled from AAA, however, in May and has remained on the major league roster since. Having traded Scott Eyre, it appears that the Cubs will continue to use Cotts as a left-handed specialist for the remainder of the 2008 season.
Cotts is set to be the only lefty in the bullpen to start the Cubs 2009.[2]
May 27, 2009 - Cotts Optioned to Triple A (Iowa Cubs) in Des Moines
Cotts underwent successful Tommy John Surgery in July 2009.
References
External Reference
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
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