Chicago Cubs acquire reliever Spencer Patton from the Texas Rangers

So far this week, the Chicago Cubs have found themselves, several pitchers, to begin their offseason haul and continued to do so by acquiring an Illinois-native from the Texas Rangers.

According to the Chicago Tribune, the Cubs landed 27-year-old Spencer Patton in exchange for 19-year-old switch-hitting infielder Frandy Delarosa. Chicago currently has more than enough trade chips at their disposal, so it’s not a surprise to hear that the club is putting them to good use.

At least, we’re hoping this transaction pans out. Before we find out a little more about Patton, the Cubs signed De La Rosa as an International free agent around the same time they picked up outfielder Jorge Soler back in 2012.  It was a $700,000 deal that brought a then 16-year-old on board with the North Siders.

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In his final run with the Cubs minor league circuit, De La Rosa found himself playing 62 games with the Class Short-Season A affiliate, the Eugene Emeralds. He served as their everyday second baseman after beginning his career as a shortstop with the Dominican Summer League team in 2013.

Across 544 minor league at-bats, Texas’ newly acquired infielder has a combined 143 hits, 75 runs, 83 RBI, 39 doubles, six triples and only one home run with a batting line of .236/.312/.362. Not eye-popping numbers, but it was enough for the Rangers – which is all that matters in the end.

Now, onto Patton. Spencer was born in Urbana, home of the University of Illinois. Rather than attending his hometown school, Patton played college baseball at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville where he was drafted by the Kansas City Royals during the 2011 draft.

He made his big league debut on Sept. 4, 2014, but doesn’t have much experience having appeared in only 36 games with the Rangers. Patton holds a 2-1 record with a 6.75 ERA, three holds, and 36/14 K/BB ratio through 33 1/3 innings pitched.

There’s no telling what role he’ll play with the Cubs, so it’s safe to assume that he’ll provide the organization with some depth by starting off the 2016 campaign in Triple-A Iowa.

If he does, manage to remain on the roster through January, we could see him on the mound during Cactus League play in March.