Listen: Barry Zito talks resilience and comeback attempt with A's
The Oakland Athletics signed veteran Barry Zito to a minor-league deal before spring training, as the 37-year-old lefty wanted to give his career one more attempt after effectively taking the 2014 season off.
Though he's pitched quite well for the A's Triple-A affiliate Nashville Sounds in 2015, he hasn't yet been called up by the A's, in part due to their strong starting pitching corps. In 17 appearances so far with the Sounds, Zito has a 3.67 ERA and has looked pretty impressive in a few starts over the past month.
On Thursday, Zito was a guest on Steve Gorman SPORTS!, and he took the opportunity to discuss his comeback attempt and his thoughts on ending his career on his own terms. Take a listen below:
It's unclear at this point if Zito will make it up to the A's in 2015, but if they wind up trading a pitcher (such as lefty Scott Kazmir, perhaps) he could presumably be in line for a promotion unless the club opts for a younger pitcher.
At this juncture, Zito's best course of action seems to be to continue pitching well in Nashville and hope for an opportunity in Oakland (or somewhere else, should a team come calling).