Joey Devine

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Joseph Neal Devine

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Biographical Information[edit]

Pitcher Joey Devine was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the first round of the 2005 amateur draft. He was signed by scout Billy Best and became the first member of that year's draft class to make his big league debut when he joined the Braves that August. However, he was hit hard in his first few major league appearances, posting an ERA of 12.60 in five games, and then he gave up a series-clinching extra-innings home run to Chris Burke of the Houston Astros in the NLCS. He made the Braves out of spring training in 2006, but his ERA was 9.95 in 10 games, sending him back to the minor leagues. He finally showed some of the spark that had been expected of him in 2007, when he gave up only one run in 8 1/3 innings in a late-season call-up.

In 2008, he was traded by Atlanta in spring training with Jamie Richmond to the Oakland Athletics for Mark Kotsay. He pitched much better with his new team, becoming a mainstay of the A's bullpen in 2008 and finding tremendous success: in 45 2/3 innings, he gave up a mere 23 hits and 3 earned runs, for a minuscule 0.59 ERA. He then suffered a major set-back early in 2009, when he had Tommy John surgery on April 22nd. This injury kept him out of the majors until 2011. That year, he made 26 appearances for the A's after return to the big leagues on May 21st, going 1-1 with a 3.52 ERA. His season once again ended prematurely, though, as he made his last appearance on July 24th then was out with a muscle strain.

Devine got more bad news after making a few appearances for the Athletics in spring training in 2012. He experienced elbow problems again, and had to undergo Tommy John surgery for the second time on April 10th, putting him out for another extended period.

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