Padres Trade Nick Hundley To Orioles

Sep 29, 2013; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Diego Padres catcher Nick Hundley (4) throws the ball to first base against the San Francisco Giants during the fourth inning at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The San Diego Padres had an extra catcher in Nick Hundley. The Orioles were in need of a catcher with Matt Wieters having an elbow injury, and had an extra reliever to trade in Troy Patton. Well, what do you know?  The teams reached a deal. Hundley and cash were sent to the Orioles in exchange for Patton per Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal.

The Padres will go with Rene Rivera and Yasmani Grandal behind the plate after the trade. Hundley is hitting .271 with one homer and three RBI so far this season. Hundley never managed to improve on his breakout campaign of 2011 when hie hit .288 in 82 games. After that, he hit just .157 in 58 games in 2012 and had a .233 average in 113 games last year. Hundley makes $4 million this year and there’s a $5 million club option on him for next year.

Patton last year went 2-0 with a 3.70 ERA in 56 games out of the bullpen for the Orioles last season. He actually fared better against righties last season (.254 BAA) than lefties (.289). He’s not a big strikeout guy, striking out only 42 in 56 innings last season, while giving up 57 hits.

Patton was suspended for the first 25 games this season for using adderall. He will join Alex Torres as the second lefty in the bullpen.