Pat Neshek

3.1. Minnesota Twins

Neshek made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut on July 7, 2006, against the Texas Rangers. He pitched two innings, allowing just one hit and no earned runs. On July 30, he earned his first major league win against the Detroit Tigers after pitching one-third of an inning, requiring only five pitches. In his rookie year, Neshek appeared in 32 games, pitching 37 innings with a 4-2 record, allowing six home runs but only 23 hits, and recording 53 strikeouts with a 2.19 ERA. His rates included 5.6 hits per nine innings allowed (H/9) and 12.5 strikeouts per 9 innings pitched (K/9).

Neshek agreed to a one-year contract with the Twins on March 2, 2007, and made his first Opening Day roster. He started the season strong, with a 2-0 record and a 2.25 ERA in his first 12 relief appearances in April. In May, he was particularly impressive, yielding only six hits in 13.2 innings pitched, striking out 18, and posting a 0.66 ERA. His performance led to his selection as one of five candidates for the final online fan vote for the All-Star Game, ultimately finishing third. Neshek suffered his first loss of the season against the New York Yankees on July 5 but then won three games in 14 days, improving his record to 6-1. He posted a 3.97 ERA in July and a 5.06 ERA in August. On September 20, the Twins shut him down for the season due to shoulder and elbow fatigue. Neshek finished the season with a 7-2 record, appearing in 74 games (fifth in the American League), recording 74 strikeouts and a 2.94 ERA in 70.1 innings pitched. He received the 2007 Dick Siebert Award, given by the Twins to the best MLB player from the Upper Midwest.

In his first three appearances of 2008, Neshek allowed only one hit in 3.1 innings with no earned runs. However, he then allowed seven earned runs in his next 10 innings. In May, after pitching only 13.1 innings, he was placed on the 60-day disabled list with a tear of the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL), missing the remainder of the season. On November 11, it was announced that he would undergo ligament replacement surgery, commonly known as Tommy John surgery, and would miss the entire 2009 season. The surgery was performed on November 18.

Neshek recovered from surgery and made the Twins' 2010 roster out of spring training. In April, he had a 4.15 ERA in 4.1 innings pitched, allowing two runs and two hits. On April 15, he was placed on the disabled list due to middle finger inflammation. However, an MRI later revealed the injury was in the palm of his right hand, not his finger. Neshek publicly expressed frustration on his website and Facebook about the misdiagnosis, which angered Twins manager Ron Gardenhire for criticizing the organization's medical staff. The issue was eventually resolved, with Neshek stating it was a "miscommunication" and vowing to pitch wherever assigned once healthy. After his time on the disabled list, he was optioned to Triple-A Rochester but was recalled to the majors on September 6. Neshek finished the season with a 0-1 record and a 5.00 ERA in 11 games, recording nine strikeouts and eight walks in nine innings pitched.

3.2. San Diego Padres

On March 20, 2011, Neshek was claimed off waivers by the San Diego Padres. He appeared in 25 games for the Padres, recording a 1-1 record and a 4.01 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 24.2 innings. On August 20, he was designated for assignment. He was designated for assignment again on September 1, cleared waivers, and was sent outright to Triple-A on September 6. At the end of the season, he became a free agent.

3.3. Baltimore Orioles

On January 30, 2012, Neshek signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles and was invited to spring training. He did not make the opening day roster and spent the next several months with the Triple-A Norfolk Tides. For the week of June 25 - July 1, he was named the International League's Pitcher of the Week, having notched three saves and eight strikeouts in 4.1 innings pitched, without surrendering a hit since May 29. During his time at Norfolk, Neshek was 3-2 with 11 saves and a 2.66 ERA in 35 relief appearances, recording 49 strikeouts while walking just seven and giving up only one home run in 44 innings pitched.

3.4. Oakland Athletics

On August 3, 2012, Neshek was traded to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for cash considerations, and was promoted to the major league roster on the same day. On September 22, Neshek gave up a game-tying home run in the bottom of the 13th inning to New York Yankees slugger Raúl Ibañez, leading to a galling 10-9 loss for the A's. Despite this, the A's defeated the Yankees the next day and finished the season with a 9-2 record, edging the Texas Rangers out of the American League West championship by one game, including sweeping the final three-game series in Oakland. In 24 games with the A's, Neshek went 2-1 in 19.2 innings, yielding 10 hits and six walks, along with 16 strikeouts and a 1.37 ERA. He relied heavily on his slider, throwing it for 83.5 percent of all his pitches.

On November 30, 2012, Neshek avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, 975.00 K USD deal with the A's. He started the 2013 season well, posting a 2.34 ERA in his first 38 appearances into August, with 30 of them being scoreless. However, he gave up three runs apiece in two different appearances in August, raising his ERA to 3.58. Neshek attributed his early success to throwing almost exclusively sliders to right-handed hitters, using the slider 73 percent of the time in 2013. The A's designated Neshek for assignment on August 26. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A on August 28, but his contract was selected to the major league roster again on September 3. For the season, he finished 2-1 with a 3.35 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 45 relief appearances. He elected free agency on November 5. Through the end of 2013, Neshek had faced 555 right-handed batters in his MLB career, holding them to a .181 batting average, .257 on-base percentage (OBP), and .315 slugging percentage (SLG). In 326 plate appearances, opposite-handed hitters had more success with a .237 average, .328 OBP, and .432 SLG.

3.5. St. Louis Cardinals

Neshek signed a minor league deal with the St. Louis Cardinals on February 6, 2014, with an invitation to spring training and an opportunity as a right-handed specialist against right-handed batters from the bullpen. After mixed performances in the previous two seasons and less-than-satisfying offers from other teams, he specifically worked during the offseason to increase his fastball velocity. This decision followed a comment from the New York Mets that they wanted to see increased velocity. His fastball gradually surged, reaching up to 92 mph, a significant increase from his consistent 87 mph to 88 mph the year before. Pleased with the increased velocity, the Cardinals purchased his contract on March 30, awarding him a spot on the 25-man MLB roster.

The developments in Neshek's spring training led to further success in the regular season as he began to mix more pitches with his slider. Against 48 total batters faced in April, he struck out 16 and yielded just six hits along with a 1.42 ERA. Neshek was credited with his first win as a Cardinal when he pitched two scoreless innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks on May 22. He improved further in May, allowing just five hits and yielding no runs in 12 innings pitched. He picked up his first career MLB save on June 4 against the Kansas City Royals. In another eight innings pitched in June, Neshek allowed just one run with a .143 batting average against. During a 22-game span, he yielded no runs, covering 20.1 innings. His fastball average for the season through June 30 was 90.1 mph, the highest of his career, with sliders comprising 38 percent of his total pitches.

After emerging from the role of a right-handed specialist to primary setup pitcher for closer Trevor Rosenthal, Neshek made his first All-Star Game. In 43 games and 38.1 innings pitched before the midseason break, he was 4-0 with two saves, a 0.70 ERA, and a 0.57 walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP). By making the team, he became just the 15th non-starter or closer out of 280 total pitchers in the prior ten seasons to be named to an All-Star team. The All-Star selection was a personal landmark in two ways: the game was played at Target Field in Minneapolis, the home field of the Twins (the team with whom Neshek began his MLB career), and it was close to Brooklyn Park, the city where he grew up. However, Neshek took the loss for the National League, as the American League won 5-3.

When the Cardinals traded for John Lackey at the non-waiver deadline on July 31, Neshek volunteered to change his uniform number from 41 to 37, as Lackey had worn 41 with past teams. To facilitate the exchange, Lackey mailed Neshek a Babe Ruth-autographed baseball the next month. In an August 10 appearance against the Baltimore Orioles, Neshek's sinker was clocked at 93 mph, as he completed two innings and struck out four, tying a career high. On August 19 against the Cincinnati Reds, he worked the last inning and picked up the decision in a Cardinals' walk-off win, making his record 6-0. For the month, he registered two saves and two wins. In 2014, Neshek was 7-2 with six saves and a 1.87 ERA in 71 appearances, recording 68 strikeouts in 67.1 innings. Despite having given up only four home runs the entire regular season, Neshek surrendered a postseason game-losing home run in Game 2 of the 2014 National League Division Series to Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers and the game-tying home run in Game 5 of the 2014 National League Championship Series to Michael Morse of the San Francisco Giants, which ultimately led to the elimination of the Cardinals in the 2014 postseason. He became a free agent following the season.

3.6. Houston Astros

On December 10, 2014, Neshek agreed to a two-year, 12.50 M USD contract with the Houston Astros, which included a team option of at least 6.00 M USD for 2017. The deal was made official on December 12. On June 7, 2015, Neshek walked Justin Smoak of the Toronto Blue Jays, ending a streak of 24 consecutive appearances without a walk, which was the second-longest streak to open a season in major league history (the longest was 30, by Mark Eichhorn in 1991). In 2015, Neshek was 3-6 with one save, 28 holds (tied for third in the American League), a 3.62 ERA, and 51 strikeouts in 66 relief appearances. In 2016, he had similar results, with a 2-2 record, a 3.06 ERA, and 43 strikeouts in 60 relief appearances.

3.7. Philadelphia Phillies

Neshek was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for a player to be named later on November 4, 2016. Before the 2017 season, on February 9, Neshek was selected for the fourth World Baseball Classic as part of the United States team. The U.S. team won its first championship by defeating Puerto Rico in the final on March 22. Neshek was an NL All-Star in 2017, marking his second and final All-Star Game appearance. In the first four months of the 2017 season with the Phillies, he was 3-2 with one save, a 1.12 ERA, and 45 strikeouts in 43 relief appearances.

3.8. Colorado Rockies

Neshek was traded to the Colorado Rockies for minor league players Jose Gomez, JD Hammer, and Alejandro Requena on July 26, 2017. With the Rockies, he was 2-1 with a 2.45 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 28 appearances. In the Rockies' Wild Card game loss, he allowed 2 runs in two-thirds of an inning. His 23 holds between the two teams (Phillies and Rockies) were tied for fifth in the National League. He became a free agent following the season.

3.9. Philadelphia Phillies (second stint)

On December 15, 2017, Neshek signed a two-year contract with the Phillies, returning to his former team. He announced that he would wear uniform number 93, a number that had never been worn by an MLB player during regular season play. On March 30, 2018, Neshek was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a right shoulder strain, but he was activated on July 1. In 2018 with the Phillies, Neshek was 3-2 with five saves and a 2.59 ERA, and 15 strikeouts in 30 relief appearances. He was the eighth-oldest player in the National League that year.

In 2019 with the Phillies, Neshek pitched only 18 innings, recording a 0-1 record with three saves and a 5.00 ERA in 20 games. His season ended due to a hamstring injury he suffered in June, which ultimately required surgery in September. He was the eighth-oldest MLB player in his final season. Neshek became a free agent after the 2019 season and did not play professionally afterward.