Royals bolster bullpen, acquire Frasor from Rangers

The Kansas City Royals made a move Wednesday to fortify their bullpen. They acquired right-handed pitcher Jason Frasor from the Texas Rangers for minor league right-hander Spencer Patton.

Frasor, 36, has been one of the only solid players for the ailing Rangers this season. He is 1-1 with a 3.34 ERA in 38 appearances for Texas. His strikeout to walk ratio is 15:2 having given up just 14 walks in 29 2/3 innings while striking out 30 batters.

The veteran 11-year veteran began his career with the Toronto Blue Jays and also spent time with the Chicago White Sox. His career ERA is 3.65 in 624 total games between Texas, Chicago and two separate stints with the Toronto.

The arm the Royals gave up was elected as a member of the Triple-A All-Star game, that will be played Wednesday night in Durham, N.C., after having a solid first half of the season with Triple-A Omaha. Patton, 26, has gone 4-3 with a 4.08 ERA in 34 games with Omaha which appears to be only decent but where his numbers really shine are in his number of strikeouts per innings pitched. In 46.1 innings the righty has struck out 60 batters and walked just 22. He also has 14 saves on the year.

To make room for Frasor on their roster the Royals made two moves. They sent Louis Coleman, who had been very effective for the Royals in 2013, to Triple-A for the third time this season. Coleman, 28, was 3-0 with a 0.61 ERA in 27 games for the Royals in 2013. He has had a much different season this year posting a 7.48 ERA in 20 games.

They also designated Jimmy Paredes, 25, for assignment. Paredes was hitting just .200 in nine games for the Royals this season and his track record did not look promising, being that he hit .192 for the Houston Astros in 48 games last season.

Hopefully for the Royals Frasor will offer some stability to their bullpen, something that they have been seeking all season.