Background and career
Trevor John Cahill (born March 1, 1988) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, San Francisco Giants, and Pittsburgh Pirates. The Athletics drafted Cahill in the second round of the 2006 MLB draft and he made his MLB debut with them in 2009. Cahill was an All-Star in 2010, finishing 9th in that year's AL Cy Young Award voting, and won a World Series title with the 2016 Cubs as well as a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He has earned over 48 million dollars in his professional baseball career. Since his rookie year with the Athletics in 2009, his nickname was the Pterodactyl or the Dactyl.
Cahill attended Vista High School in Vista, California. The Oakland Athletics drafted Cahill in the second round (66th overall) of the 2006 MLB draft. In his first full season in minor league baseball, with the Kane County Cougars, he went 11–4 with a 2.73 earned run average, 117 strikeouts and 105+1⁄3 innings pitched over 19 starts to earn a Single-A All-Star nod from Baseball America.
Cahill began 2008 with the Stockton Ports of the California League. He went 5–4 with a 2.78 ERA and 103 strikeouts to earn a California League All star selection and a promotion to Double-A. Cahill also represented America in Major League Baseball's Futures Game. With the RockHounds, Cahill was 6–1 with a 2.19 ERA before shutting it down in order to compete with the United States national baseball team at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Entering the 2009 season, Cahill was ranked 11th among Baseball America's Top 100 Prospects, and made the Athletics starting rotation out of Spring training along with his Olympic teammate Brett Anderson. On April 7, 2009, Cahill made his Major League debut against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, going five innings, allowing five hits, two earned runs, striking out one and received a no decision. Cahill came into the 2010 season as a starter for the A's, quickly becoming one of the breakout pitchers of the year. He put up borderline Cy Young Award-worthy statistics, finishing the season with an 18–8 record and an ERA of 2.97, making it into the Top 5 of lowest ERA in the American League, behind Félix Hernández, Clay Buchholz, and David Price, all three considered among best pitchers in the American League. His WHIP was also in the Top 5, with 1.11 WHIP. In April 2011, after only two years in the majors, Cahill signed a five-year contract worth $30.5 million. As of 2021, this contract accounted for well over half of his career earnings. For the 2011 season, high expectations were set for Cahill. Cahill began the season as the A's #1 starter. Cahill did not replicate his 2010 performance, despite logging in 207 innings in 34 starts. Cahill finished 12–14 with a 4.16 ERA for Oakland.
On December 9, 2011, Cahill and Craig Breslow were traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Ryan Cook, Jarrod Parker, and Collin Cowgill. In his first season in Arizona, Cahill bettered his 2011 performance by going 13–12 in 32 starts. He pitched more than 200 innings for the second straight year and struck out a career high 156 batters. In 2013, through 17 starts, Cahill was 3–10 with a 4.66 ERA. After his 17th start, Cahill was put on the disabled list for the first time in his career. Cahill missed more than a month due to a hip contusion. He came back in mid-August. After his stint on the disabled list, Cahill finished the season on a 5-game winning streak, finishing the 2013 season with an 8–10 record in 25 starts. He led the league in wild pitches with 17. Cahill struggled mightily at the beginning of the 2014 season. He first began the season 0–4 with a 9.17 ERA; then, he was demoted to the bullpen the following week. Cahill made 15 appearances out of the bullpen, recording his first save of his career and lowering his ERA to 5.17. Despite this, Cahill's control didn't seem to get better; he was designated for assignment on June 9. After going unclaimed, the D'Backs sent him to Single-A to fix his mechanical issues. After a month in the minors, Cahill was recalled on July 14. Cahill was quickly inserted back into the rotation. Cahill finished his rocky 2014 season with a career-worst 3–12 record and a career-high 5.61 ERA in 32 games (17 starts) for the Diamondbacks.
On April 2, 2015, he was traded to the Braves for minor league player Josh Elander. He made his Braves debut on April 14, yielding four earned runs in 2+1⁄3 innings. On June 11, 2015, he was designated for assignment. He was released on June 20.
On July 2, 2015, Cahill signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He started seven games in the Dodgers farm system between three levels, going 1–3 with a 5.24 ERA, before exercising his opt out and becoming a free agent on August 14.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
