Monday, September 23, 2013

T-Bones re-acquire Padgett, Irvine

By MATT FULKS, tbonesbaseball.com

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – The Kansas City T-Bones announced they have re-acquired the rights to infielder Matt Padgett and pitcher Lucas Irvine, and added infielder Nick Giarraputo and outfielder Bryan Sabatella from New Jersey of the Can-Am League to complete the August 13 trade between the two clubs.

Padgett, 36, who was the American Association/PointStreak Hitter of the Month for July, was one of the top hitters in the league before the trade, with a .337 batting average, 19 home runs, 33 doubles, 66 RBIs and a .650 slugging percentage. In 26 games with the Jackals (including postseason), Padgett batted .313 with five doubles, six home runs and 22 RBIs.

Irvine, 24, was in the top five in the American Association in ERA (2.96, third), strikeouts (94, fifth), complete games (3, tied-second) and innings pitched (121 2/3, second) before the trade.

With the Jackals, he went 3-1 with a 3.86 ERA, 26 strikeouts and one shutout in six games. During the regular season with New Jersey, Irvine went 2-1 with a 2.34 ERA.

Giarraputo, 25, is a 6-foot-3 and 200-pound third baseman, who batted .281 with 91 hits, five home runs and 45 runs batted in this season for the Jackals.

He is a career .275 hitter with 589 hits, 130 doubles, 43 home runs and 295 RBIs. The New York Mets selected Giarraputo in the 12th round of the 2006 MLB June Amateur Draft out of Simi Valley High School (Simi Valley, Calif.). He spent four seasons in the Mets organization, reaching high-A.

Sabatella, 28, is a 6-foot-4 and 220-pound outfielder, who hit .291 with 105 hits, 10 home runs and 47 RBIs in 98 games for New Jersey in 2013. He is a career .303 hitter with 985 hits, 61 homers and 460 RBIs in nine professional seasons. Seattle selected Sabatella in the ninth round of the 2005 MLB June Amateur Draft out of Quinnipiac College.

He spent two years in the Mariners organization, reaching high-A. He has played for four independent teams since 2007.