Jharel Cotton hoping for new start with Twins

FORT MYERS, FLA. – As soon as Jharel Cotton's locker mate settled in at Twins spring training, Cotton posed a very important question to his neighbor.

"It was the first thing he asked. He was like, 'Are you a TikToker?' " said Ralph Garza Jr., before Boston claimed him off waivers Thursday. "I was like, 'No, man, no.' "

The 30-year-old Cotton wasn't asking because he enjoys making funny videos on the social media app. It's just a lead-in to sharing his proudest accomplishment — his 2-year-old daughter, Zola.

"She was TikTok famous," the righthanded pitcher said. "I brag about that because I think it's pretty cool that my little girl was TikTok famous."

The video — which mom, Emma, filmed last August — shows Zola clad in a blue Texas Rangers jersey given a fluff of cotton candy for the first time. She takes it and begins to cuddle it like a stuffed animal, until her mom instructs her to eat it. She cautiously takes a small bite and chews for a while, until suddenly a big smile breaks across her face.

Obviously, the cute quotient was off the charts, and the clip went viral, garnering 1.3 million likes on TikTok and appearing on outlets like the "Today" show.

So it seems safe to say Zola is more famous than her dad, the big league pitcher. But Cotton is hopeful a new start with the Twins will provide even more sweet moments for him and his family.

The Twins claimed Cotton off waivers from the Rangers in November and agreed to a $700,000 deal, just above the league minimum. Cotton doesn't have any options left, so he likely will be on the roster for Opening Day on April 7. And while Cotton was a starter at the beginning of his major league career, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said to expect Cotton to be part of the bullpen.

Cotton grew up in the U.S. Virgin Islands and St. Thomas before eventually moving to Virginia as a teenager. He played collegiately at Miami Dade and East Carolina and had a couple chances to go pro when the Dodgers offered him an undrafted free-agent deal in 2010 and when the Mets drafted him in the 28th round in 2011. He declined both, not turning professional until the Dodgers took him in the 20th round of the 2012 draft.

"I felt like I needed to develop more. I wasn't ready yet," Cotton said. "And I didn't want to be that guy that goes into system not ready and then is just stalled. I wanted to be ready and excel."

Cotton worked his way up through the Dodgers' system before the team traded him to Oakland in 2016, where he made his professional debut late that season, posting a 2.15 ERA through five starts. He began 2017 as part of the A's rotation but struggled and bounced down to the minors and up again a few times. He ended that year with a 5.58 ERA from his 24 starts.

In March 2018, he had Tommy John surgery. And just when he was starting to come back from that in May 2019, he had another setback.

"I was running some sprints, and the grass was wet, and I was in sneakers," Cotton said. "Bad, bad decision right there."

Cotton had another surgery to repair his semitendinosus muscle in his hamstring. He didn't play at all in 2018 and managed only 18 minor league games in 2019. The A's traded him to the Cubs for cash late that year, but with no minor league ball in 2020 because of the pandemic, he never saw any action before the Cubs released him in September.

That offseason, the Rangers signed him as a free agent, and he had a 3.00 ERA for the Class AAA Round Rock Express in 24 mostly bullpen appearances. He made it back to the majors for the first time since 2017 by late July last year.

In 23 games for the Rangers, he posted a 2-0 record with a 3.52 ERA, striking out 30 and walking 15 in 30 2/3 innings.

Twins pitching coach Wes Johnson said all that turbulence can affect a pitcher mentally, so there has been a lot of emphasis this spring on rebuilding confidence. And while it's still too early to figure out exactly where he will slot in amid the bullpen, Johnson has been anticipating Cotton's potential. Cotton has pitched two games and three innings so far this spring, allowing one hit, one earned run and three walks while striking out four.

"Asking a guy to make as many changes from a lower-half standpoint as we're asking, and then him picking it up that quick and being very competitive with it," Johnson said. "We're very excited."

Baldelli said Cotton's "Bugs Bunny, cartoonish changeup" knocks hitters way off their line. Cotton agreed his fastball-changeup is his "bread and butter," but he also added a slider last year.

Despite his rocky career so far, Cotton never had a moment where he thought it was the end. He said he always kept pushing, trusting he had more to offer. And he's used spring training so far to learn from his fellow pitchers, asking questions and even requesting some hands-on demonstrations.

In return, Cotton will guaranteed brighten their day, thanks to Zola, of course.

"He said, 'You've probably seen my daughter on TikTok, she's famous,' " pitcher Sonny Gray recalled of his first interaction with Cotton this spring since the two were teammates in Oakland. "And I said, 'Um, I have not because I don't do TikTok. But show it to me.'

"I can resonate with that, though, being proud of your kids."