CHICAGO -- Outfielder Corey Patterson, once projected as the
Chicago Cubs' star of the future, was traded to the Baltimore Orioles on Monday for a pair of minor leaguers: shortstop Nate Spears and left-hander Carlos Perez.
The 26-year-old Patterson hit .252 with 70 homers in parts of
six major league seasons with the Cubs, appearing in 589 games. He
was the Cubs' first-round pick and third player taken overall in
the 1998 amateur draft.
Patterson tore a knee ligament midway through 2003 during a
breakout season, when he batted .298 with 13 homers.
He started 111 games in center field for the Cubs last year,
struggling with a .215 average and just 13 homers in 126 games. The
Cubs demoted him to Triple-A Iowa to work on his batting stroke,
and he played 24 games in the minors before returning.
"Basically, I thought I played well with the Cubs other than in
2005," Patterson said. "I just got into a rut, and before I knew
it I couldn't get out of it."
Patterson was booed loudly and often at Wrigley Field and became
expendable after the offseason acquisitions of Juan Pierre and
Jacque Jones.
"If he is not going to have a chance to be a full-time player,
he is not going to be able to correct the things that led him to
have a bad year last year," Cubs general manager Jim Hendry said.
"It was not a good fit for him to be a bench player here at this
point, after what happened last year."
Patterson believes a change of scenery could enable him to get
back on track.
"Obviously, last year wasn't the best situation for me," he
said. "I thought all along that getting a new start was important.
I look at it as a positive."
Patterson adds depth to a depleted outfield and could challenge
Luis Matos for the starting center field job. Baltimore declined to
offer left fielder Eric Byrnes a contract and saw a tentative
agreement with Jeromy Burnitz fall through when he decided to sign
with Pittsburgh. Burnitz likely would have started in left.
"I'm most comfortable in center because I've played much of my
career there, but I've played all three outfield positions so that
isn't an issue for me," he said.
He also hopes to provide speed at the top of the lineup, perhaps
in the No. 2 spot ahead of Melvin Mora and Miguel Tejada.
"I'm a guy who can get on base, and if I can steal bases and
get into scoring position, that would really help the team,"
Patterson said.
Said Hendry: "It's a situation where Baltimore gets a chance to
take a good gamble on a kid who still has a lot of upside if it
works."
The 20-year-old Spears spent last season at Baltimore's Carolina
League affiliate at Frederick, Md. The left-handed hitter batted
.294 with 30 doubles, six triples, six homers and 41 RBI in 112
games.
Perez recorded his first career double-digit winning season last
year, going 11-8 in 27 starts for Class-A Delmarva. The 23-year-old
worked a career-high 151 1/3 innings and struck out 146 while
walking just 61.
"We felt we got two good players," Hendry said.