Neal Cotts

Neal James Cotts was born on March 25, 1980 in Lebanon, Illinois.

The Oakland Athletics selected him in round two of the 2001 MLB Draft out of Illinois State University. He was traded to the Chicago White Sox as part of a six player deal on December 16, 2002. Cotts made his big league debut for the White Sox in 2003, and pitched for them through 2006. He helped them win the 2005 World Series, allowing no runs over 2.1 relief innings during that postseason.

Cotts pitched for the Chicago Cubs from 2007 through 2009. A string of injuries kept him off a Major League mound until 2013, but he returned better than ever. Cotts posted a 1.11 ERA over 58 relief appearances for the Texas Rangers in 2013, and produced another solid season for them in 2014.

The Milwaukee Brewers signed Cotts to a one year deal in 2015. He had a 3.26 ERA across 51 appearances, before getting traded to the Minnesota Twins in an August waiver wire deal.

Cotts had a 3.95 ERA in 17 relief appearances for the Twins, but it was balloon'd by one bad outing against the Houston Astros on September 6th. Without that one outing, he would've had a 2.03 ERA. This was his final stint in the Major Leagues. Cotts remained in professional baseball on various minor league deals through 2017.

• 2005 World Series champion