Corey Patterson signed a minor league contract with the Mariners in early December and came to spring training to compete for a backup outfield spot.
With Eric Byrnes having played his way into that job, Patterson’s fate with the big-league club seemed sealed.
This evening, Patterson took that fate into his own hands. He optioned out of his contract and became a free agent.
In 19 exhibition games, Patterson batted .216 with two home runs, two RBI and eight strikeouts.
One person said Patterson didn’t do diddly-squat at spring training. Actually, that’s not quite true. He did do squat early by showing some life with his bat, but didn’t do diddly late in camp.
That hurt him, especially when Byrnes warmed up with the bat and proved that his legs are strong after two years of injuries.
Ryan Langerhans remains in the big-league camp, but he has dealt with a bad elbow the past week and has only batted in minor league games. That would suggest some DL time to begin the season.
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