Chad Gaudin

Chad Edward Gaudin (born March 24, 1983) is a former American professional baseball pitcher.

He has been used as both a starting pitcher and a reliever throughout his career, functioning as a "swingman."

Gaudin has pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Toronto Blue Jays, Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, New York Yankees, Washington Nationals, Miami Marlins, and San Francisco Giants.

Gaudin attended Crescent City Baptist High School in Metairie, Louisiana.

He earned All-State and district MVP in his junior and senior years.

He committed to Louisiana State University in November 2000.

In 2001, he struck out 203 batters in 89 innings to win The Times-Picayune Player of the Year honors.

Gaudin was selected by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays out of high school in the 34th round (1009th overall pick) of the 2001 Major League Baseball Draft.

He signed on August 23, 2001, and did not play professionally until 2002.

That year, he maintained a 2.26 ERA in 119.1 innings as a starter and reliever for the Single-A Charleston RiverDogs.

Before the 2003 season, Baseball America ranked him as the 20th best prospect in the Devil Rays system.

He worked 14 games as a started for the Bakersfield Blaze in High-A before making it up to Double-A.

On July 15, in his first start for the Orlando Rays, Gaudin pitched a seven-inning perfect game in the first half of a doubleheader.

On the road against the Jacksonville Suns, he struck out nine batters on just 78 pitches, retiring all 21 batters he faced.

(Two 7-inning games is the standard for a doubleheader in most minor leagues; Major League Baseball would later amend a rule recognizing only efforts of at least nine innings as official perfect games.) Gaudin made only two more starts and posted an 0.47 ERA for Orlando before the Devil Rays called him up to the majors.

Gaudin made his major league debut on August 1, allowing one run in 2.1 innings against the Kansas City Royals that day.

At the time of his debut, he was 20 years and 130 days, making him the youngest Devil Ray to debut to that point.

He posted a very respectable 2–0 record and 3.60 ERA in 15 appearances (including three starts) in 2003 for the Devil Rays.

In 2004, Devil Rays manager Lou Piniella used Gaudin out of the bullpen in order to face tough right-handed batters.

He made four starts in the month of June, including a start on June 22 where he walked four in the first inning before being pulled.

Overall, Gaudin went 1–2 with a 4.85 ERA in 26 appearances while splitting time with the Triple-A Durham Bulls.

On December 12, 2004, Gaudin was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for backup catcher Kevin Cash.

He spent most of the season with the Syracuse SkyChiefs in Triple-A, posting a 9–8 record with a 3.35 ERA in 150.1 innings.

In five appearances (three starts) with the Blue Jays, he was just 1–3 while allowing 19 runs on 31 hits (six home runs) in 13 innings.

On December 5, 2005, he was traded to the Oakland Athletics for a player to be named later, who later turned out to be outfielder Dustin Majewski.

Gaudin began the 2006 season in Triple-A with the Sacramento River Cats.

He posted a 0.36 ERA in 4 starts for the River Cats and was promoted to the majors on April 21 to pitch out of the bullpen.

He pitched in relief for the rest of the season with the Athletics, posting a 3.09 ERA in 64 innings.

In 2007, Gaudin was put in the rotation when veteran Esteban Loaiza started the season on the disabled list.

He pitched to a 2.88 ERA in the first half of the season.

On June 30, he and Rich Harden threw a one-hitter against the New York Yankees.

His excellent performance as a starter resulted in the media considering him part of the new 'Big Three' that included Dan Haren and Joe Blanton.

However, Gaudin had a 6.30 ERA after the All-Star break.

In December 2007, Gaudin underwent surgery to repair a labrum tear in his hip and remove the sesamoid bone in his right big toe.

He returned to pitching again by March 2008, putting him just two weeks behind the other pitchers.

However, he ultimately started the season on the disabled list and was due to miss additional time before a rash of injuries forced the A's to activate Gaudin a week early.

He posted a 3.75 ERA through six starts, but was moved to the bullpen, on May 7, in favor of Rich Harden.

He then held a 3.38 ERA in 26.2 innings as a reliever.

On July 8, 2008, Gaudin was dealt, along with Rich Harden, to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for Sean Gallagher, Matt Murton, Eric Patterson, and minor league catcher Josh Donaldson.

Despite posting a 4-2 record, Gaudin pitched poorly for the Cubs, pitching to a 6.26 ERA in 27.1 innings.