The Padres have signed left-handed pitcher Buddy Baumann to a Major League contract and designated catcher Josmil Pinto for assignment, according to a team announcement. The Padres had claimed Pinto off waivers from the Twins earlier this month.
Baumann, 28, has spent his entire career to date in the Royals organization, having been Kansas City’s seventh-round pick back in the 2009 draft. The Missouri State product has never reached the Major Leagues, though he does have outstanding numbers at the Triple-A level across the past three seasons. In that time, Baumann has a 3.04 ERA with 9.1 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9 in 216 innings of work. Baumann has worked in both the rotation and the bullpen at Triple-A Omaha, though he spent the bulk of 2015 in a relief role, with just six starts and 28 relief appearances. In 2015, Baumann held opposing lefties to a comically feeble .148/.225/.222 batting line. His 2013-14 numbers against lefties weren’t quite as dominant, but he still held same-handed opponents to an OPS around .600 in that time. Baumann could compete for a spot in the Padres’ bullpen, though he can also be optioned to Triple-A if he doesn’t make the club out of Spring Training.
Pinto, 27, was once viewed as Minnesota’s possible catcher of the future due to his outstanding bat in the minors and in his first September call-up back in 2013. Pinto raked at Double-A and Triple-A in ’13, hitting a combined .309/.400/.482 with 15 homers before earning a September promotion and announcing his presence with a .342/.398/.566 performance in that month-long audition. Pinto, however, was always viewed as a poor defender behind the plate, so when his bat began to slip in 2014 and 2015, his future was called into question. He hit just .219/.315/.391 in 57 games with the Twins in 2014, and his 2015 season was marred by concussions and poor performance at the Triple-A level, where he batted just .228/.304/.354 in 68 games.