Steven Zachary McGuire Putnam (born July 3, 1987) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

and

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

Amateur career

Born in

Rochester, Michigan Rochester is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 12,711 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is a northern suburb in Metro Detroit located 20 miles north of the city of ...

, Putnam attended Pioneer High School in

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

. At Pioneer, Putnam was the Michigan Gatorade Player of the Year and Mr. Baseball in 2005, and also led the team to a state title in 2004. Putnam then attended the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, where he played for the

Michigan Wolverines baseball The Michigan Wolverines baseball team represents the University of Michigan in NCAA Division I college baseball. Along with most other Michigan athletic teams, the baseball team participates in the Big Ten Conference. They play their home games ...

team as a

and

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

, and was a two-time All-American. In 2007, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Chatham A's The Chatham Anglers, more commonly referred to as the Chatham A's and formerly the Chatham Athletics, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Chatham, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over 1,000 forme ...

. As a hitter, Putnam hit .307 with 19 home runs and had an overall ERA of 3.36 over three seasons for the Wolverines.

Professional career

Cleveland Indians

Minor leagues

Putnam was drafted by the

in the fifth round of the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft. He spent the next four seasons in the Indians' minor league system: 2008 with the

Mahoning Valley Scrappers The Mahoning Valley Scrappers are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Niles, Ohio, a city in the valley of the Mahoning River, and play their home games at Eastwood Field. From 1999 to 2020, they were ...

, 2009 with the

Kinston Indians The Kinston Indians were a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League (CL) located in Kinston, North Carolina, from 1978 to 2011. They played their home games at Grainger Stadium, which opened in 1949. The team began play in 1978 as the Kin ...

and

Akron Aeros The Akron RubberDucks are a Minor League Baseball team based in Akron, Ohio. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They play in Canal Park, located in downtown Akron, which seats 7,63 ...

, 2010 with the Aeros and

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, merch ...

, and 2011 with the Clippers. In 2011, Putnam had a 6–3 record and a 3.65 ERA in 44 games.

Major leagues

Putnam was a September call-up, and made his major league debut on September 13, 2011. In 2011 for the Indians, Putnam went 1–1 with a 6.41 ERA in eight games.

Colorado Rockies

On January 20, 2012, Putnam was traded to the

in exchange for

Kevin Slowey Kevin Michael Slowey (born May 4, 1984) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Slowey was selected by the Minnesota Twins in the second round (73rd overall) of the 2005 Major League Baseball Draft. He also played for the Miami Mar ...

. Putnam spent most of 2012 with the Triple-A

Colorado Springs Sky Sox The Colorado Springs Sky Sox were a Minor League Baseball team in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The team played in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and was the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers (2015–2018), Colorado R ...

, but did pitch in two games with the Rockies.

Chicago Cubs

On November 2, 2012, Putnam was claimed off waivers by the

. He spent the majority of the season with the Triple–A

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. T ...

, and struggled to an 18.90 ERA across five major league appearances. On October 9, 2013, Putnam was removed from the 40–man roster and sent outright to Triple–A Iowa. He elected free agency following the season on November 4.

Chicago White Sox

On November 27, 2013, Putnam signed a minor league contract with the

. On April 17, 2014, Putnam's contract was purchased, and he was placed on Chicago's 25-man roster; he spent most of the season with the White Sox. Putnam ended establishing career bests in all pitching categories, finishing with a 1.98 ERA in innings, while also going 6-for-7 in save opportunities. The following season, Putnam doubled his ERA from 2014, finishing with a 4.07 ERA in 49 games. In innings, he struck out 64 batters. The next two seasons, he wound up spending most of the time on the disabled list, appearing in only 32 games over the 2016 and 2017 season. Putnam underwent

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, sometimes referred to as Tommy John surgery is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's body, ...

in June 2017, and elected

free agency In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in December 2017. He was non-tendered and became a free agent on December 1.

Boston Red Sox

On December 14, 2018, Putnam signed a minor league contract with the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

. He suffered a

hamstring injury Straining of the hamstring, also known as a pulled hamstring, is defined as an excessive stretch or tear of muscle fibers and related tissues. Hamstring injuries are common in athletes participating in many sports. Track and field athletes are p ...

in early March 2019, and spent the season on the roster of the Triple-A

Pawtucket Red Sox The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate ...

on the

injured list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

. He elected free agency following the season on November 4.

Chicago White Sox (second stint)

On March 2, 2020, Putnam signed a minor league contract with the

. He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Putnam was released by the White Sox organization on June 26.

Coaching career

On May 4, 2023, Putnam was hired to serve as a volunteer coach at

Ball State University Ball State University (Ball State or BSU) is a public research university in Muncie, Indiana, United States. The university has three off-campus centers in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, and Fishers, Indiana. The university is composed of seven aca ...

References

External links

MiLB.com player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Putnam, Zach 1987 births Living people Cleveland Indians players Colorado Rockies players Chicago Cubs players Chicago White Sox players Michigan Wolverines baseball players Chatham Anglers players Mahoning Valley Scrappers players Kinston Indians players Akron Aeros players Peoria Saguaros players Columbus Clippers players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Iowa Cubs players Charlotte Knights players Major League Baseball pitchers Sportspeople from Rochester, Michigan Baseball players from Oakland County, Michigan Baseball players from Ann Arbor, Michigan Pioneer High School (Ann Arbor, Michigan) alumni Western Michigan Broncos baseball coaches