The Rangers have acquired reliever Cory Burns from the Padres for a player to be named later, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com reported Wednesday.
Burns, 25, made his major-league debut with San Diego this season, recording a 5.50 ERA in 18 innings. He struggled with control, walking five batters per nine innings, and opposing hitters tagged him for 26 hits.
However, Burns' changeup gives reason for optimism. It drew swinging strikes on a tremendous 21.8 percent of offerings -- nearly double the league average -- and went for a strike 68 percent of the time. The question is if his 89 MPH sinker will be able to get him to the pitcher's counts he needs to unleash the changeup. It certainly did in the minors, where he never posted an ERA higher than 3.14. Overall, Burns owned a 2.36 mark and a 5.1 K/BB in 213.1 innings.
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