Tony Sipp released by Padres, signs with Astros

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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.

Anthony Rendon fan interaction video looked into by MLB

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
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OAKLAND, Calif. – Major League Baseball is looking into a video circulating on social media that appears to show Los Angeles Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon grab a fan by the shirt through the bleacher guardrails after Thursday night’s game in Oakland, a league spokesperson said Friday.

Rendon looks to have grabbed the fan’s shirt near his chest through the bars of the railing and exchanged words with him before appearing to take a swipe at the bill of the man’s ballcap and walking into the tunnel.

Angels spokesman Adam Chodzko says the team has no comment. The Angels do not play Friday, but the club expects Rendon to address the video Saturday in the clubhouse before the game against the Oakland Athletics in Oakland.

The video shows the fan, dressed in A’s colors, approach the railing as Rendon turns toward him from the tunnel walkway below. Rendon then appears to grab the man’s shirt and ask him what he just said, accusing the fan of calling him a derogatory term before swiping at his ballcap.

The A’s won the game 2-1.