Athletics' Ross Detwiler: Returns to Oakland with new pitch

Detwiler, a non-roster invitee to spring training who spent time with the A's last season, developed a cutter this offseason, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. "It's just another look, all my pitches fade off arm-side so I have something going the other way," Detwiler said. "It puts something in the hitters' heads, they can't necessarily dive out."

Analysis:

After tossing eight scoreless frames in his Oakland debut last Aug. 11, Detwiler struggled the rest of the way, finishing the 2016 campaign with a 6.10 ERA and 1.60 WHIP over 48.2 innings. The 32-year-old decided to add a cutter to his arsenal this offseason at the encouragement of A's coaches Curt Young and Scott Emerson, and has had some early success with it in bullpens this spring. Bruce Maxwell, who's caught the veteran in those sessions, noted the pitch has "got late break to it" and could be key in Detwiler's quest for a roster spot. The veteran southpaw is scheduled to make his Cactus League debut in Saturday's opener against the Cubs following starter Jesse Hahn.