A's promote switch-pitcher Venditte

Before Friday, Pat Venditte had been best-known as the answer to a Minor League trivia question: "Hey, did you hear about the guy who pitches both right-handed and left-handed?"

Now, seven years after his versatility prompted baseball to create a new rule, he's a Major Leaguer. 

The 29-year-old switch-pitcher is being called up from Triple-A Nashville to the Majors by the A's, according to a tweet by Gary Sharp of 1620 The Zone in Omaha(Venditte's hometown).

After spending seven seasons in the Yankees system, Venditte signed with the A's as a Minor League free agent this offseason and was not on their 40-man roster, meaning Oakland will have to make a corresponding roster move before the promotion is official.

Venditte has put up a 1.36 ERA and 0.97 WHIP with 33 strikeouts and 13 walks in 17 appearances (33 innings) for Nashville. He's been particularly effective as a southpaw against left-handers, holding them to a .095 average (4-for-42) with two walks compared to .208 (15-for-72) with 11 walks as a right-hander pitching against right-handers. In his Minor League career, he's posted a 2.37 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 10.0 K/9. 

Since the Yankees took him in the 20th round of the 2008 Draft out of Creighton, the Nebraska native has become one of the more intriguing stories in the Minors. A switch-thrower since age 3, Venditte uses a special glove that can be used on either hand and can be easily switched from hitter to hitter. Stuff-wise, he has slightly more velocity from his right side -- although that is down to the mid-80s since 2012 right shoulder surgery -- and throws a changeup and slider that are difficult to hit from either side.

"I'm sure it could be viewed as a sideshow, and it's my job to show people that it's not," Venditte told MiLB.com in 2014. "If I do my job and throw strikes, then I'm doing that."