Special Delivery For Andrew Triggs

OAKLAND—A year ago, righthander Andrew Triggs arrived at Orioles camp as an obscure, aging minor league reliever just hoping for a chance at a Triple-A job. Instead, he was waived, which began an unusual journey.

Triggs arrived at Athletics spring training this year as a top contender for a rotation spot. He is coming off a year when he made the transition from reliever to starter and gave every indication that is where he belongs.

What sets Triggs apart is his unusual delivery. He throws from a slot just above sidearm but with his release point closer to his body than traditional sidearmers. He also throws across his body, which adds to the confusion.

“You get somebody with that kind of arm angle, with that tenacity and confidence, he’s going to do great things,” catcher Stephen Vogt said at the club’s fan fest.

The A’s claimed Triggs, who turns 28 in March, on waivers last spring, then assigned him to the bullpen at Triple-A Nashville. That began a year of travel. He had eight separate stints with the A’s, which is believed to be a club record.

As Oakland starting pitchers dwindled in August, Triggs moved into the rotation and made a big impression before going down with a lumbar strain. He finished with a 2.81 ERA in six starts.

“It was nice for me to settle into a role that I had always been in, which was being a starter,” Triggs said, “but you come into the minor leagues, you’ve got a lower arm slot, you throw across your body . . . and it’s very easy for people to say this works as a reliever.”

Triggs had been a starter in college at Southern California, but when the Royals drafted him in the 19th round in 2013, he was ticketed for the bullpen, the expected landing spot for a coiled sidearmer.

Triggs can reach 94 mph with his fastball, but he relies mostly on a nasty slider, which he can throw to both sides of the plate, plus a cutter and a sinker. He has been working to develop his changeup during the offseason.

A’s ACORNS

• The A’s opened their Dominican mini-camp on Jan. 27. The camp focused on English lessons and cultural assimilation classes, as well as strength and conditioning and nutrition.

• Righthander Daniel Mengden, another possible starter in Oakland, went down with a stress fracture in his right foot in February. He was expected to miss spring training.

— Casey Tefertiller is a writer based in Oakland