Jordan Norberto

Norberto was acquired by the A's in a deadline deal, along with Brandon Allen, for Brad Ziegler. He was solid as a reliever split between the two teams at Triple-A, fanning 64 batters and allowing just two homers and in 57 innings. Pitching for a winter ball team in the Dominican Republic, Norberto made 10 relief appearances before four straight starts where he was very effective: 17.2 innings, 16 hits, 20:5 K:BB. He's spent the last three years as a reliever in the minors, but it appears that the A's may be moving him back to the rotation to see if there's still some potential there.

A rookie season that began with so much promise turned out to be a let down for Norberto. He was lights out during spring training and drew rave reviews as an electric left-handed arm, reaching 92-96 mph on the radar gun with his fastball and mixing in a nasty breaking ball. Six bad April appearances derailed him, but the strikeout rate was strong at Triple-A Reno (11.8 K/9IP) following his demotion. Just 24 years old, he'll head back to the minors if his control remains problematic this spring, but Norberto has the physical tools to be a significant member of the D-Backs' rebuilt bullpen if the light turns on.