SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- After two stints at Triple-A Lehigh and two more with the Philadelphia Phillies, former Cal Poly pitcher Spencer Howard is on the move again.
Next time he takes the mound, Howard will don a Texas Rangers uniform.
On Friday, Howard was traded to the Rangers for starter Kyle Gibson and reliever Ian Kennedy.
The deal was first reported by The Athletic, and Jeff Passan of ESPN added that the Phillies also will send two prospects to Texas. The Phillies reportedly also will get one prospect and $4 million in cash.
Read the Philadelphia Inquirer story on the trade by clicking here.
In recent weeks, the Phillies have switched back and forth on plans to use Howard as a starter or a reliever. He made seven starts and four relief appearances for Philadelphia, compiling an 0-2 record and 5.72 ERA over 28 1/3 innings with 31 strikeouts.
At Lehigh Valley, Howard appeared on the mound six times with a 1-0 record and 1.25 ERA and 28 strikeouts over 21 2/3 innings.
Howard became the 19th former Cal Poly baseball player to play in the Major Leagues on August 9, 2020, making his Major League debut against the Atlanta Braves. He was drafted by the Phillies in the second round (45th overall) in 2017 and is 1-4 with a 5.81 ERA in his brief Major League career.
Howard didn't pitch deep into the games this year as the Phillies managed his innings limits. This season he has been dominant the first time through the order, but his velocity and production dropped off substantially from the third inning on. Howard has yet to allow an earned run in the first and second innings of a start with the Phillies this season, but has a 10.80 ERA in innings three and four combined.
Bothered by shoulder issues over the last couple seasons, Howard left his last start against Washington on July 26 with two outs in the top of the fourth with a calloused-over blister on his right middle finger. He was due to start Sunday at Pittsburgh.
A 2014 graduate of Templeton High School, Howard was a second-team All-American by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and a first-team All-Big West Conference selection with an 8-1 record at Cal Poly in 2017.
Mitch Haniger bats for the Seattle Mariners.
Meanwhile, Cal Poly's other active Major Leaguer, Mitch Haniger, had a nine-game hitting streak snapped by the Oakland Athletics on July 22, but two days later produced a 3-for-4 day at the plate with a double, two home runs and three RBIs, also against the A's.
Haniger went 13-for-34 (.382) during the streak with a double, five home runs and 12 RBIs. The run included his second career grand slam July 9 against the Los Angeles Angels, snapping a 3-3 tie in the eighth inning.
Haniger currently is hitting .258 with 25 home runs, tied for sixth in the Majors, and 62 RBIs (tied for No. 23) over 98 games. He collected his 100th hit of the season Tuesday against the Houston Astros. Two weeks ago, he earned his first American League Player of the Week award presented by Chevrolet.
Cal Poly's other Major Leaguer this season, Milwaukee Brewers utility player Mark Mathias, is sidelined for the season after undergoing labrum surgery on his right shoulder May 4. He suffered the injury while diving for a catch in right field in a Cactus League game on March 9.
In addition to Mathias, three other former Mustangs currently are on the seven-day injury list. They are Bradlee Beesley at South Bend, Kyle Marinconz at Harrisburg and Alex McKenna at Corpus Christi.
Outfielder Nick Torres is hitting .311 for Union Laguna in the Mexican League while Elijah Greene, another outfielder, lifted his average to .280 at Inland Empire by going 11-for-32 (.344) over his last nine games with two doubles, a pair of triples, his first home run of the season and five RBIs.
On the mound, Taylor Dollard is 5-0 in five starts at Everett with a 5.34 ERA and 28 strikeouts with just six walks over 30 1/3 innings while Erich Uelmen has allowed just one earned run in his last four relief appearances (eight innings) at Tennessee.
Pitcher Chase Johnson was released by El Paso last week.
Currently Cal Poly has two players in Triple-A (Torres at Laguna and Zach Zehner at Jacksonville) and four more in Double-A (McKenna, Uelmen, Marinconz and Nick Meyer at Binghamton).
Follow the progress of all former Cal Poly players in professional baseball by clicking the link at the top of the page.
Photo of Spencer Howard courtesy of the Philadelphia Inquirer; Photo of Mitch Haniger courtesy of Ben VanHouten | Seattle Mariners
