A blast from the past has returned to the Oakland A’s; Barry Zito signed a minor league deal with the club Monday.  With the A’s entering Spring Training with several questions revolving around the starting rotation, they were bound to bring in another factor to the competition.

Zito was drafted by the A’s and donned the green and gold for seven seasons before going across the bay and signing a mega deal with the San Francisco Giants.  Zito had much success in Oakland where he was part of the Big Three, which consisted of Zito, Mark Mulder, and Tim Hudson.  Zito didn’t have much success across the bay, in fact he greatly struggled never posting an ERA under four.  

The lefty retired after the 2013 season, so after a year off he has made his comeback and will attempt to make the A’s opening day roster.  

So, what exactly does this mean for the A’s?  Well, there are two spots clearly taken by Sonny Gray and Scott Kazmir, other than that let the competition begin.  Drew Pomeranz, Jesse Chavez, Chris Bassitt, Kendall Graveman, Jesse Hahn, Sean Nolin, and now Zito will battle it out for the three remaining spots.  

With A.J. Griffin and Jarrod Parker returning from Tommy John Surgery, they aren’t expected to be ready by Opening Day, so Bob Melvin will have some important decisions to make when it comes to his starting rotation.  The A’s are also expected to be extremely cautious with Parker in particular because this is his second Tommy John operation.

For some, making the roster at the start of the season will be temporary, but depending on what they do with the opportunity could have an effect on the rest of the season.  When it comes to Zito, he will be a great guy to have around the clubhouse this spring at the very least. He’s a Cy Young winner and a guy who had tremendous success with the green and gold during the Moneyball years. If he doesn’t make the roster, he serves as a veteran presence for the young A’s pitchers to learn from.  He’s been to the big show and won the World Series with the Giants and has accomplished a lot in his career.

While he hasn’t performed extremely well since he left the A’s after the 2006 season, he was an important aspect to the Giants pitching staff when they won the series in 2012.  With the Giants he went an overall 63-80 with a 4.62 ERA.  With the A’s, he was 102-63.  

Now, if he outperforms the A’s youngsters this spring and earns a spot in the rotation, he could be a strength and provide depth to a solid staff when Parker and Griffin return.  He’s not the ace he once was, but if he were to make a big-league roster, he could serve as a serviceable fourth or fifth starter.

It’ll be an interesting Spring for the A’s as they welcome many new faces and determine a new starting rotation, but at the very least Zito is a guy players on this roster of any age can learn from.