Houston Buffaloes GM Jack Yates reached out to me to let me know their closer, Harold Patterson, was available in the right deal. Patterson has pitched well, with 17 saves and a 2.15 ERA this season. He is currently making $78,000 this season, and is arbitration-eligible after that.
I was very intrigued by Patterson, thinking he might be a good fit, at a nowhere near as expensive price tag as Jim Howard had. But when I talked to Mr. Jacoby about making a move, he informed me that we cannot really add salary this year. That adds a bit of hard wrinkle. Houston is also under a budget constraint, which meant that Bob Hancock would not work for them in return.
So I may be stuck, at least right now. Maybe Mr. Jacoby will loosen some of those purse strings as we get closer to the trade deadline.