Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union Tribune reports that the Padres have granted left-hander Tony Sipp’s request for a release so that he can sign a big-league deal with the Astros.
Sipp signed a minor-league contract with the Padres during spring training and has been pitching at Triple-A, where he’s thrown 15 innings with a 4.30 ERA and 21/2 K/BB ratio.
Sipp has always been a useful middle reliever, logging 258 innings with a 3.84 ERA and more than a strikeout per inning for the Indians and Diamondbacks. He’s typically been similarly effective versus righties and lefties, so the 30-year-old southpaw isn’t strictly a specialist.