The A’s have signed right-hander Spencer Patton to a minor league deal, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post.
Patton, 35, pitched in the big leagues from 2014 to 2016 but struggled in that time and then headed to Japan. He spent four years with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball, from 2017 to 2020. He tossed 205 2/3 innings in that time over 219 appearances, posting a 3.68 ERA.
He returned to North America in 2021, signing a minor league deal with the Rangers. He was selected to the big league club and made 42 appearances that year with a 3.83 ERA, 27.9% strikeout rate, 8.7% walk rate and 41.3% ground ball rate. Unfortunately, last year was a little more rocky, as he was placed on the injured list in April with an oblique strain after just seven appearances and was later outrighted off the roster. He was doing fine in Triple-A for most of the year, having a 3.42 ERA through early August. However, he was bombed for 11 earned runs in his final three appearances, shooting his ERA up to 6.44 and leading to his release.
He’ll now join the Athletics’ organization and try to work his way back to the big leagues. The club’s bullpen has a couple of veterans in Trevor May and Jeurys Familia but everyone else has less than two years of major league service time. Patton will likely head to Triple-A Las Vegas and look to get himself in position for a big league opportunity, should one arise.
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