SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Padres announced Thursday the signing of right-handed pitcher Micah Owings to a one-year contract for the 2012 season.
“Micah will compete for a spot on our staff,” said Executive Vice President/General Manager Josh Byrnes. “He is a proven contributor as a starter and as a reliever. Micah’s character and versatility made him a priority for us as we looked to add depth to our pitching staff.”
The 29-year-old right-hander went a perfect 8-0 with a career-best 3.57 ERA (25 ER/63.0 IP) in 33 games, four starts, for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2011. He went 5-0 with a 3.59 ERA (17 ER/42.2 IP), 34 strikeouts against 17 walks and a .236 (37-for-157) opponents batting averages in his 29 relief appearances, while going 3-0 with a 3.54 ERA (8 ER/20.1 IP) over his four starts.
Originally selected by the Diamondbacks in the third-round of the 2005 First-Year Player Draft, he has gone 32-31 with a 4.91 ERA (258 ER/473.1 IP) over parts of five Major League seasons with Arizona (2007-08, 2011) and Cincinnati (2009-10).
At the plate, Owings is a .286 (58-for-203) career hitter, with 14 doubles, two triples, nine home runs, 35 RBI, 27 runs scored and a .507 slugging percentage. He has a career .297 (47-for-158) average as a pitcher, tops among all pitchers with 100-or-more at-bats since 2007.
With today’s transaction, the Padres currently have a full 40-man roster.
