A’s reliever Spencer Patton has been sent outright to Triple-A Las Vegas, according to the MLB.com transaction log. He went unclaimed on waivers after being designated for assignment on Saturday.
Patton signed a minor league contract with Oakland during the second week of the season. It didn’t take long for the 35-year-old to pitch his way onto the roster. He threw 8 1/3 innings over six outings for Las Vegas, allowing four runs with a 10:4 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The A’s called him up during the first week of May and deployed him four times out of their bullpen before taking him off the roster two days ago.
The right-hander tallied 5 1/3 innings of relief. He surrendered a couple home runs and allowed four runs overall in that brief look. It marked the third straight season in which the SIU Edwardsville product reached the major league level. Patton pitched seven times for the Rangers last year on the heels of a 42 1/3 inning, 3.83 ERA showing for Texas back in 2021. He’s appeared in parts of six MLB seasons overall, sandwiching a four-year run in Japan.
Patton has gone unclaimed on outright waivers multiple times in his career. That gives him the right to elect minor league free agency instead of reporting back to Las Vegas if he’d prefer to look for other opportunities.
He will get used to Vegas in no time!
6.75 ERA would be close to a top pitcher on A’s right now.