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Troy Patton

Minor MLB Transactions: 2/21/16

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Here are the latest minor moves from around baseball, with the newest transactions at the top of the post…

  • The Marlins released left-hander Troy Patton, the team announced.  Patton was a non-roster invite to Miami’s spring camp after signing a minor league deal with the club in December.  Patton’s 2015 season was limited to 30 1/3 innings for the Royals’ Triple-A affiliate, as he missed much of the year serving an 80-game suspension for testing positive for amphetamines.  The southpaw has a 3.25 ERA, 7.2 K/9 and 3.14 K/BB rate over 169 career innings with the Astros, Orioles and Padres, though only 14 of those frames have come in the last two seasons.
  • The Angels have hired Brendan Harris and Ben Francisco as pro scouts, Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times reports (via Twitter).  The hirings would suggest that Harris and Francisco are retiring after lengthy professional careers that saw both men play for six different franchises and play their last big league games in 2013.  Harris spent eight seasons in the majors, with 390 of his 529 career games coming as a regular with the Rays and Twins from 2007-09.  The versatile Harris saw lots of time at shortstop, third base and second base over his career and he hit .256/.314/.381 over 1876 plate appearances with six different franchises.  Francisco saw regular action in the outfield with Cleveland and Philadelphia from 2007-2011 before bouncing around to four other clubs in his final two seasons.  Francisco hit .253/.323/.418 with 50 homers over 1771 Major League PA, though he may be best remembered in Philadelphia for his three-run homer that helped the Phillies win Game 3 of the 2011 NLDS against the Cardinals.  MLBTR congratulates Harris and Francisco on their fine careers and wishes them the best as they move into the scouting world.

Minor MLB Transactions: 12/28/15

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Matt Eddy of Baseball America has all the latest minor league moves, and there are some notable additions that have not yet appeared on the pages of MLBTR. Among them:

  • The Marlins have signed righty Dylan Axelrod, lefty Troy Patton, and shortstop Robert Andino. Axelrod has seen MLB action in each of the last five seasons, but has seen his opportunities dwindle and owns only a 5.27 career ERA in 228 2/3 frames. Patton has had success at times in the bigs — he was a solid contributor to the Orioles from 2011-13 — and threw 30 1/3 innings of 2.37 ERA pitching last year at Triple-A. As for Andino, he’ll return to the organization with which he cracked the majors after spending last season in independent ball.
  • Outfielder Alex Castellanos is heading to the Rockies, per Eddy. The 29-year-old has seen only minimal MLB time, despite solid numbers at Triple-A. He played briefly last year for Japan’s Yomiuri Giants.
  • The Cardinals signed righty Jeremy Hefner, who is working his way back after Tommy John surgery. Hefner threw 224 1/3 frames for the Mets, with a 4.65 ERA, over 2012-13.
  • Joining the Diamondbacks are righties Matt Buschmann and Jose Cisnero. Buschmann, 31, spent time with three organizations last year and has yet to crack the majors. Still just 26, Cisnero has made it to the bigs with the Astros but threw at Double-A last year in the Reds organization, continuing to show an ability to miss bats but also a predilection to miss the zone.
  • The White Sox inked right-hander Josh Wall. Wall has made 15 major league appearances in past seasons. Heading into his age-29 campaign, the reliever will be looking for a chance to pick up some more MLB frames after throwing sixty innings of 2.70 ERA ball last year at Triple-A, with 10.4 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9.

AL Central Notes: Patton, Tigers, Swisher

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Here’s the latest from around the AL Central…

  • Left-hander Troy Patton can opt out of his minor league deal with the Royals on August 15 if he isn’t called up to the MLB roster, Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star reports.  Patton served an 80-game suspension after testing positive for amphetamines last November, and has posted a 3.07 ERA, 6.8 K/9 and a 5.5 K/BB rate over 14 2/3 relief innings at Triple-A Omaha.  As McCullough notes, the Royals may not be able to find a place for Patton in the already-stacked K.C. bullpen.
  • New Tigers GM Al Avila faces a number of pressing questions about the 2016 team, Lynn Henning of the Detroit News writes.  Beyond the payroll, young pitcher development and fixing the Tigers bullpen, Henning also speculates on the future of manager Brad Ausmus.  “It would be no shocker if Avila” wanted to hire his own manager to run the team, and if a change was made, Henning believes that the Tigers would pursue an experienced skipper, namely Ron Gardenhire.
  • Nick Swisher’s tenure with the Indians is recapped by Zack Meisel of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.  While Swisher helped the Tribe earn a wild card slot in 2013, that contribution alone wasn’t worth his $56MM contract with the team.  Meisel also hints at a bit of tension between Swisher and some teammates, writing that “his relentless enthusiasm wore on members of the clubhouse” and “when his performance went south…his insistence on being the club’s commander and cheerleader didn’t carry much weight.”

Royals Sign Troy Patton To Minor League Deal

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The Royals and left-hander Troy Patton agreed to a Minor League contract the day before the season began, reports Matt Eddy of Baseball America (Twitter link). Patton won’t be available to begin the season, as he was hit with an 80-game suspension in November after testing positive for amphetamines. Patton had previously served a 25-game suspension for the same reason — Adderall usage without a therapeutic use exemption.

Suspensions aside, Patton was a largely serviceable reliever from 2011-13 with the Orioles, working to a 3.05 ERA with 7.2 K/9, 2.1 BB/9 and a 45.8 percent ground-ball rate. Baltimore flipped Patton to the Padres in exchange for catcher Nick Hundley last year, however, and he struggled in a small, 14-inning sample of work between the two clubs, yielding eight runs on 16 hits (two homers) and five walks. Overall, Patton sports an aesthetically pleasing 3.25 ERA and has held lefties to a weak batting line of just .243/.284/.349. FIP and xFIP both feel his ERA should be closer to 3.90, while SIERA pegs him at 3.51.

At 29 years of age, Patton still has some relative youth on his side, and he’ll provide the Royals with some depth at an area of need once his suspension is complete. Kansas City lost left-handed reliever Tim Collins for the season due to Tommy John surgery, so Patton could conceivably work his way into a bullpen role later in the year. And, with 4.138 years of big league service, he could be controlled via arbitration on the perhaps unlikely chance that he emerges as a viable contributor.

Minor Moves: Patton, Monell, Sands, Elmore

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Here are the day’s minor moves:

  • Free agent lefty Troy Patton has received an 80-game suspension for a positive amphetamine test, the league announced today. The 29-year-old lefty only threw 14 MLB innings this year after two full seasons with the Orioles, but had been solid in eight appearances with the Padres after a mid-season trade and surely would have found at least a minor league deal with a Spring Training invite.
  • Backstop Johnny Monell is headed to the Mets, he announced on Twitter. He’ll get a minor league deal with an invitation to big league camp in the spring, per a tweet from Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com. The 28-year-old has only nine big league plate appearances, but has a combined .261/.343/.450 slash line over 724 Triple-A plate appearances.
  • Previously designated for assignment, outfielder Jerry Sands has been outrighted by the Rays, according to the MLB.com transactions page. The 27-year-old has seen only a smattering of MLB time since a partial-season stint with the Dodgers back in 2011. At Triple-A this year, he slashed .268/.352/.474 with nine long balls over 219 plate appearances.
  • The Reds have re-signed infielder Jake Elmore, with the news also coming via MLB.com. He had been outrighted after being acquired by Cincinnati in the middle of the 2014 season.

Minor Moves: Free Agents, Blue Jays

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Here are the latest minor moves from around the game.

Minor Moves: Almonte, Patton, Martinez, Clemens

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Here are today’s minor moves from around baseball, with the newest transactions at the top of the page…

  • The Yankees have outrighted outfielder Zoilo Almonte, according to the International League transactions page. Almonte, 25, has collected just 36 plate appearances in the big leagues this season, spending most of the season at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he’s hit .261/.311/.437 in 454 plate appearances. The Yankees designated him for assignment earlier this week.
  • The Padres outrighted left-hander Troy Patton to Triple-A El Paso, the team reports.  Patton was designated for assignment on Tuesday.  He posted a 5.14 ERA in 14 combined innings with the Orioles and Padres this season, but since coming to San Diego in May in exchange for Todd Hundley, Patton has a 2.45 ERA, eight strikeouts and just one walk over 7 1/3 relief innings.
  • The Astros outrighted right-handers Paul Clemens and David Martinez off their 40-man roster, MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart reports (Twitter link).  The two were designated for assignment on Tuesday.  Clemens has a 5.84 ERA in 24 2/3 relief innings for Houston this season, while Martinez allowed four in seven innings of work for the Astros.
  • The Phillies have purchased the contract of right-hander Sean O’Sullivan, the team announced.  Lefty Mario Hollands was moved to the 60-day DL in a corresponding roster move.  O’Sullivan signed a minor league deal with Philadelphia last winter and has twice been outrighted off the club’s roster this season, while posting a 6.94 ERA over 11 2/3 IP in two starts with the Phillies.

Padres Designate Troy Patton, Chris Nelson

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The Padres have designated lefty Troy Patton and infielder Chris Nelson for assignment, MLB.com’s Corey Brock reports on Twitter. Like many of the day’s other DFAs, these moves are related to the team’s September call-up plans.

Patton, 28, was picked up from the Orioles in the deal that sent Nick Hundley to Baltimore. He had been a reasonably effective reliever before struggling out of the gate this year for the O’s. Over 7 1/3 frames in San Diego, Patton actually showed quite well, allowing just two earned runs and striking out eight and walking only one. Over his career, Patton has limited lefties to a .633 OPS while also managing right-handed batters reasonably well (.718 OPS-against).

Nelson, also 28, has bounced around quite a bit in recent years. This season, he spent time at Triple-A with both the Reds and Pads, posting a combined .279/.355/.389 slash over 363 plate appearances. He failed to hit the .300 mark in any of those categories in his 81 trips to the MLB dish this year for San Diego.

Showalter On The Troy Patton / Nick Hundley Deal

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Earlier today, the Orioles sent lefty reliever Troy Patton to the Padres for catcher Nick Hundley and cash. Orioles manager Buck Showalter says Matt Wieters’ health was the driving force behind the deal, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports. The team is still waiting to determine whether Wieters will need season-ending elbow surgery.

“We still hope Matt doesn’t need anything,” Showalter says, but adds that the team needs brace itself for the worst. “You’ve always got to prepare for what-if.”

With Wieters on the disabled list, the Orioles had been using Steve Clevenger and 27-year-old rookie Caleb Joseph behind the plate. “We think Caleb and Steve have done a capable job. We like Brian Ward down below. He’s having a good year. And [prospect Michael] Ohlman is learning his trade,” Showalter says. “But [the Padres] had a surplus there.”

The Padres had three catchers in Yasmani Grandal, Rene Rivera and Hundley, plus a catching prospect at Double-A in Austin Hedges, so they had plenty of depth from which to deal. Patton gives them another bullpen lefty to pair with Alex Torres.

Showalter says he’s sad to see Patton go. “Troy did a lot of good things for us here. It’s kind of tough parting with someone you’ve been around that long. A good teammate, good friend to a lot of guys, but there’s a need that, him being wanted somewhere, could potentially serve.”

Padres, Orioles Swap Troy Patton, Nick Hundley

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The Orioles have announced the trade of lefty reliever Troy Patton to the Padres for catcher Nick Hundley and cash considerations. (MLB.com’s Corey Brock tweets that the Orioles will receive under $2MM.) The Orioles also promoted Steve Lombardozzi from Triple-A Norfolk.

With Matt Wieters on the disabled list, the O’s were playing Steve Clevenger and Caleb Joseph behind the dish. They had been rumored to be shopping Patton for another option at catcher.

Patton, 28, has struggled in nine outings so far this season and has already served a 25-game suspension for Adderall use, but he was a reliable contributor for the Orioles from 2011 through 2013, and he has a 3.28 career ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9. He is making $1.28MM this season in his second year of arbitration eligibility as a Super Two player.

Hundley, 30, hit .271/.271/.373 in 59 plate appearances for the Padres this season. In his absence, the Padres will go with Yasmani Grandal and Rene Rivera at catcher. Hundley got 408 plate appearances in 2013, hitting .233/.290/.389. He is in the last year of a three-year, $9MM deal that pays him $4MM in 2014, which likely partially explains why the Orioles are receiving cash in the trade. Hundley’s contract also contains a $5MM option for 2015, with no buyout.

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