Dodgers reassign Red Patterson to minor league camp

GLENDALE -- The Dodgers on Tuesday made another roster move, reassigning right-handed pitcher Red Patterson to minor league camp.

The move comes one day after five players were cut after Sunday's game. All of those players were in uniform for yesterday's game, while Patterson was already done for the day. He last pitched in a game on Sunday, throwing two innings.

Patterson, who turns 27 in May, was in his first big league camp this season as a non-roster invitee. He was 7-4 with a 3.03 ERA as a swing man with Triple-A Albuquerque, with 109 strikeouts and 49 walks in 107 innings in his 39 games, including 12 starts. He set a goal early in camp to take advantage of the opportunity to learn.

"There are guys in here with decades of experience. It's the best place to learn, at the highest level," Patterson said in February. "Just watch and pick up some things, see how to really handle yourself. It's a whole new ballgame over here."

After starting the first 42 games of his professional career in 2010-2011, Patterson switched to relief full time in Double-A Chattanooga in 2012, then back to a swing man role with the Isotopes last season. He learned to adjust to a new, almost undefined role.

"Basically my routine was not having a routine. I used to be a guy very set in his ways. I had to change completely, be more relaxed and go with the flow," Patterson said. "As a starter it's more of a mental game. Coming out of the bullpen you just get that adrenalin rushing through you, coming in with the bases loaded trying to help out the guy before you or trying to save a game. There's nothing like it."

Patterson pitched in three Cactus League games, and allowed one run in 6⅓ innings, with four walks and four strikeouts.

The Dodgers now have 42 players remaining in camp, including 23 pitchers and 19 position players. Seven non-roster invitees remain, and manager Don Mattingly said on Tuesday that none of them have out clauses before the trip to Australia.