The Kansas City T-Bones announced today the Texas Rangers have purchased the contract of outfielder Nick Torres. He is the fourth T-Bone player in July, and the sixth this season, to be sold to an MLB organization.
Torres was a favorite of many Kansas City fans. As part of the T-Bones host family program, he, his wife Korrin and one-and-a-half-year-old golden retriever Scout were residents of The Piper Assisted Living Center.
Korrin and Scout were a common sight at games, often seen playing fetch on the grass berm just beyond the outfield fence at T-Bones Stadium. Korrin is the author of a popular blog titled The Baseball Gypsy, and Scout has more than 32,000 followers on Instagram at @lifeofscout_.
The 25-year-old Torres had not missed playing a game for the T-Bones in the 2018, making 55 appearances.
On June 26, he had five RBIs in the game against the Lincoln Saltdogs. He was the team leader in home runs, with five. His batting average was seventh in the American Association at .329 and he was sixth in RBIs with 43 on the season. In 231 at bats, he had 76 hits.
Torres was the fourth-round pick by the San Diego Padres in 2014 out of California Polytechnic State University. He spent 2017 with AA San Antonio in the Texas League where the right-handed batter hit .277 with 11 home runs and 61 RBIs.
He finished second on the club in RBIs and games played at 119. Torres went to spring training with San Diego in 2018 but was released on March 28. He appeared in one Big League Spring Training contest, going 1-for-1 with an RBI.
In 2016, Torres reached AAA El Paso in the Pacific Coast League playing in 36 games hitting six home runs with 18 RBIs and a .308 average but spent the bulk of his time at AA San Antonio hitting .282 with six long balls and 40 RBIs.
Torres’ 28 doubles tied him for the Missions team lead. In 2015 the Lakewood, California, native split time between High A Lake Elsinore and Low A Fort Wayne. In 77 games at Fort Wayne he hit .326 with two home runs and 40 RBIs while hitting .275 at Lake Elsinore with three homers and 30 RBIs. His 70 RBIs combined in 2015 are a four-year career high.
Torres began his career with one game with the rookie-level Arizona Padres in 2014 before hitting .254 in 43 games at Eugene in the Northwest League. Torres led the Big West Conference with 52 RBI in 58 games in his final season at Cal Poly.
Torres is the 36th Kansas City player, and the sixth this season, to have his contract purchased while with the T-Bones.
In May, the Washington Nationals purchased the contract of outfielder Adam Brett Walker and the New York Mets purchased the contract of right-handed pitcher Cody Martin. On July 3, the Cubs purchased the contract of left-handed T-Bones pitcher James Buckelew. On July 7, the Cincinnati Reds purchased the contract of left-handed pitcher Carlos Diaz. On July 13, the Seattle Mariners purchased the contract of left-handed pitcher Joe Filomeno.
The T-Bones have consistently held the second-place spot in the American Association and currently have a 35-20 record and a .636 winning percentage. The T-Bones take on the Cleburne Railroaders (19-34) in the second of a three-game series Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. in Texas. On Monday, KC defeated Cleburne 10-4.
Individual tickets, season, group, mini-plans and nightly party suites are on sale and can be purchased by visiting the box office at T-Bones Stadium or www.tbonesbaseball.com. Box office hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.
The T-Bones’ games are airing on the T-Bones Broadcast Network, http://mixlr.com/t-bones-baseball/.
– Story from T-Bones