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The San Diego Padres acquired pitcher Marc Rzepczynski from the Cleveland Indians for AAA outfielder Abraham Almonte.
Rzepczynski was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 5th round of the 2007 MLB Draft and made his debut in 2009. He was a starter in his first 2 seasons, but he was then sent to the bullpen. He has a career 3.81 ERA with 310 strikeouts in 330.2 innings pitched.
The Padres were seen as sellers leading up to the trade deadline, but they did not make the trades that everybody was waiting for. Acquiring Rzepczynski was the only move that they made.
“We like this team, and we believe with 60 games to go that we can make a great run,” said team president and CEO Mike Dee. “There was no mandate from ownership to slash payroll or save money. It was really about what it should be; baseball decisions and smart baseball decisions.
“At the end of the day, the old adage ‘Sometimes the best deals you do are the ones you don’t’ [fit]. For this team, staying put was the best of all options.”
The Padres made a big splash in the off season, acquiring Justin Upton, Wil Meyers, Matt Kemp, Derek Norris, Will Middlebrooks, James Shields, and Craig Kimbrel. They have been a disappointment this season with a record of 50-53, 6.5 games out of the second Wild Card spot. They still have a chance to get back in to the playoff race.
Rzepczynski will be arbitration eligible after this season.
All MLB trades are pending medical reviews.
Quotes and Statistics are courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and MLB.com.
