Padres To Sign Clayton Richard

The Padres have agreed to a deal that will bring back southpaw Clayton Richard, according to Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune. It is not yet clear whether it is a major league or minor league pact.

Richard, 32, previously spent five campaigns in San Diego. He’ll return there after washing out this season with the Cubs, who had tendered him a contract and agreed to a $2MM deal over the winter.

Though he dealt with injuries at times, Richard was generally a quality starter for the Pads, particularly over the 2010-12 campaigns. In that three-year, run, he carried a 3.88 ERA with 5.4 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 over 520 frames.

After a rough 2013 campaign, Richard ended up missing all of 2014 after undergoing surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome. He showed well in Triple-A for the Pirates last year and ended up being dealt right onto the Cubs’ active roster, ultimately contributing 42 1/3 innings of 3.88 ERA ball — mostly out of the pen.

That led to Chicago’s decision to give Richard a spot in this year’s pen. But he never managed to get on track, even when deployed sparingly. The southpaw finished only 14 frames in 25 appearances, coughing up ten earned runs and as many walks as strikeouts (seven apiece).