David Purcey | P TRACKER

Biography


David Kent Purcey.

... Married.

... Played collegiate baseball as an Oklahoma Sooner.

... Was named "National Player of the Week" by Collegiate Baseball for the week of February 8-15, 2004.

... Furthermore, the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association and the Big 12 Conference tabbed Purcey their national pitcher of the week as well.

... Was named "Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Pitcher of the Week" from April 14-20, 2004.

... Following a standout freshman season and an even more successful summer campaign, was named to Baseball America's preseason All-American team as a second team selection in January of 2003.

... Helped lead his Anchorage Glacier Pilots team to the championship game of the National Baseball Congress World Series in September of 2002.

... Made two appearances during the NBC World Series and was credited with the team's 15-2 win over the Ft. Lauderdale Superstars to open their tournament slate.

... Was named to the "Louisville Slugger Freshmen All-American Baseball Team" on June 5, 2002.

Tigers send Sizemore to A's for Purcey
By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 05/27/11 6:54 PM ET

DETROIT -- Scott Sizemore was the Tigers' second baseman of the future a year and half ago, as president/general manager Dave Dombrowski said after the 2009 season. On Friday he became part of the solution for the Tigers' relief help of the present.

Detroit's deal, sending Sizemore to Oakland for left-handed reliever David Purcey, was very much a here-and-now trade, as Dombrowski indicated when he talked with reporters. The team doesn't have a clear-cut replacement at second base at the moment, more like a group to platoon that now includes the just-recalled Danny Worth. But the Tigers felt they needed to do something about a bullpen that has been bleeding runs lately and doesn't have a clear seventh-inning order.

"The problem we have, of course, is that we're trying to win games," Dombrowski said. "We're trying to help our offense. But one way I look at it is right now, [our scouts] all think that [Purcey] can make our bullpen stronger. And as you know, we need to make our bullpen stronger. So hopefully, if this helps us with another step of that, and we get [Joaquin] Benoit throwing the way he's capable of throwing, we're [better].

"We're in a spot [where] we do have other alternatives at second base at this time. And unfortunately, if [Sizemore] was out there hitting a bunch, I'm sure we would be having a different conversation. We just haven't been successful in getting him going."

The Tigers have found their bullpen help with an arm Dombrowski said he had been pursuing since last winter. Purcey is a former first-round pick of the Blue Jays who could not catch on as a starter in Toronto before finding a home in relief last year. He posted a 1-1 record with a save and a 3.71 ERA in 33 games, but the secondary stats were more impressive.

Left-handed hitters batted just .163 (7-for-43) against Purcey last year. Right-handed batters didn't fare terribly better, with a .235 average (19-for-81). The ERA became elevated with help from 15 walks over 34 innings.

Purcey opened the season in a Jays bullpen that had an abundance of left-handed talent. After he gave up three runs on two hits and a walk in a third of an inning on April 11 at Seattle, however, Toronto designated him for assignment, leading to a deal to the A's.

Purcey found his better form in Oakland, where he limited opponents to a .191 average while scattering three runs on nine hits over 12 2/3 innings. He walked three and struck out seven.

"He has an above-average arm, a good breaking ball and a good changeup," Dombrowski said. "We're looking at somebody who can probably pitch in middle relief, seventh-inning-ish, I would think, somebody that can fit in leading up to [Benoit and Jose Valverde]."

Purcey is expected to fly to Detroit on Saturday morning, and he should be available for that night's game. He'll join another lefty-loaded bullpen, but Dombrowski said that the team sees him as more than a lefty specialist.

Sizemore, meanwhile, is headed to Triple-A Sacramento. It's another stint for him in the Minor Leagues at a level where he showed in April he can hit. But it demonstrates a point Dombrowski made, that a return to Toledo made little sense.

Sizemore arrived from the Mud Hens earlier this month with a .408 average (31-for-76) over 23 games and enough extra-base potential that Detroit called up him to replace Will Rhymes at second. He went 3-for-4 with a double in his first game up but hit just 11-for-59 (.186) in 16 games since. All of those hits were singles.

" just couldn't really find my stride," Sizemore said. "I felt like I was starting to swing good for a couple of days, then had a setback or two. [I] just couldn't really get it to click, and that happens over the course of a baseball season. You're not going to hit good forever. You're going to have hot streaks. You're going to be in slumps. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to carry out my hot streak long enough up here. I guess this is the result of it."

Add it all together, and his .222 average is two points lower than it was last year, when he was coming back from ankle surgery.

"He had that nice short swing, hitting the ball to the opposite field the first day he was here," Dombrowski said. "All of a sudden, it's not the same swing -- a little longer, taking some pitches on the outside part of the plate that he [once] drove. We're not putting any pressure on him to drive the ball or anything like that. It's just, I don't really know the answer. We don't know the answer. It's just right now, I think if he would just settle in and be comfortable, then eventually it could happen for him. But we don't have that luxury."

For now the Tigers will mix Worth with utility infielder Ramon Santiago and Ryan Raburn, both of whom have started at second in Detroit this year.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Purcey not conventional left-handed reliever
By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 05/28/11 8:14 PM ET

DETROIT -- Manager Jim Leyland had the punch line ready when he was asked if he had a chance to say hello to new reliever David Purcey in the Tigers' clubhouse on Saturday.

"I did," Leyland said. "He's left-handed."

Purcey's a left-hander, all right, one of three in the Tigers' bullpen after Detroit optioned out Adam Wilk to make room on the 25-man roster. But that doesn't make Purcey a left-handed reliever, not in the conventional sense.

Purcey isn't a situational reliever, despite the nasty numbers he put up against left-handed hitters. In fact, Purcey said he feels more comfortable pitching against right-handed batters. He's a converted starter who had to make a living getting right-handers out.

"I don't see myself as lefty vs. lefty," Purcey said, traded by the A's on Friday for second baseman Scott Sizemore. "Like I've shown against other teams, I can go one, two, four innings. I've pretty much pitched all the different roles before. I feel like I can get hitters out just as well from either side of the plate."

If the Tigers saw him as a lefty specialist, they probably wouldn't have picked him up with the southpaws they have already. But they need a reliever to help them bridge the gap between their starters and their late-inning arms. If Purcey can help do that, Detroit will feel happy about its deal with Oakland.

It would make Purcey pretty happy to find a place to stick for a while, too. This is his third different team this season, and it isn't even Memorial Day yet. He has been a part of every early division race in the American League.

That said, Purcey doesn't resent the jumping around. For him, the five weeks or so he spent with the A's proved worthwhile, if mainly for the chance to work with Oakland pitching coach Ron Romanick.

"He actually made a couple modifications," Purcey said. "We moved from the left side of the mound to the right side, and then just kind of closed off my stance a little bit. All those balls that were on the plate and then off are now [pitches] I'm throwing for strikes. He did a great job helping me out, figuring out a couple things. I just want to thank him for that."

Purcey found his better form in Oakland, where he limited opponents to a .191 average while scattering three runs on nine hits over 12 2/3 innings. He walked three and struck out seven.

That didn't earn him a home in Oakland once closer Andrew Bailey was ready to return from the disabled list, but it might help him find one in Detroit if he can keep it up.

"We've been trying to get David Purcey for a long time," team president/general manager Dave Dombrowski said. "[We] tried to get him this wintertime, because Toronto has a lot of left-handed relievers. He threw very well out of the bullpen last year. We needed a left-hander in the 'pen, looked at clubs, thought he might be a guy that would fit. They wouldn't trade him in the wintertime. They wouldn't trade him through Spring Training.

"Then he had a real tough start a couple outings and Toronto has a bunch of guys in the bullpen. So they designated him for assignment. We tried to trade him at that point. We weren't able to consummate a deal, [and] they traded him out [to Oakland]."

The day that trade was made, Dombrowski said, they called the A's to express interest.

"We called Oakland right away to let them know we had interest in Purcey if anything happened," Dombrowski said. "We periodically called them. They said they would make the move if Sizemore was involved, and that was a couple days ago. We kicked it around ourselves over the last couple days."

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Purcey goes on paternity leave
By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 06/04/11 8:40 PM ET

CHICAGO -- The Tigers were down one reliever for likely the rest of the weekend after David Purcey left town to be with his wife for the birth of their first children, a set of twins.

By rules on the Collective Bargaining Agreement, Purcey goes on paternity leave, which can last from one to three days. Since Purcey and his wife live in Dallas, the Tigers are hopeful that it's just two days before he can rejoin the team on Monday for the series opener at Texas.

The Tigers can replace Purcey on the roster during that time, and unlike a normal roster move, they can recall someone who was sent down less than 10 days ago. That led to speculation that left-hander Adam Wilk might be returning. No move, however, came down Saturday.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Tigers activate Purcey from paternity list
By Drew Davison / MLB.com | 06/06/11 8:15 PM ET

ARLINGTON -- The schedule couldn't have worked out any better for Tigers reliever David Purcey. He lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, which allows him a few more days to be with his newly born twins.

Purcey's wife gave birth to a boy and a girl on Saturday.

"I flew back here two days ago and made it about an hour before she gave birth," Purcey said. "It's worked out great, and being here gives me a few more nights at home."

Purcey was activated from the paternity list on Monday, as the Tigers optioned left-hander Andy Oliver to Triple-A Toledo. Since joining the Tigers on May 27, Purcey has thrown two scoreless innings of relief.

Drew Davison is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Purcey designated to make room for Pauley
BECK'S BLOG
Posted on August 2, 2011 at 5:53 pm

The new Tigers have arrived from Seattle, and in a somewhat unexpected move, David Purcey is on his way out. The Tigers designated Purcey’s contract for assignment on Tuesday to make room new reliever David Pauley. Doug Fister already had a roster spot open for him once Jacob Turner was optioned to Triple-A Toledo on Sunday.

Had Al Alburquerque’s elbow been an issue, the move most likely would’ve been to put Alburquerque on the DL instead. But both team president/general manager Dave Dombrowski and manager Jim Leyland said Alburquerque is in good shape and available to pitch tonight. With somebody having to go out, the Tigers essentially chose to keep just-recalled Daniel Schlereth over Purcey, at the risk of losing him to a waiver claim.

The Tigers have 10 days to trade, release or outright Purcey. Given his command struggles, it would seem unlikely, but still possible, that another team claims the former first-round pick on waivers. The Tigers, for their part, would like to get Purcey in Toledo and work on straightening out the command issues that left the Tigers in a bind to use him in any situations.

“We like his arm and we’d love to keep him,” team president/general manager Dombrowski said, “but lately he’s had problems throwing strikes. For us, it was based upon us. If he clears, we’ll be happy to have him back at Triple-A and hopefully get him back throwing strikes.”

It was an odd development for the talented lefty who came over from Oakland in the Scott Sizemore trade back in May. He pitched well for the first four weeks he was a Tiger, racking up 8 2/3 scoreless innings over seven outings, before his command seemed to desert him.

Add up his 12 outings since June 21, and Purcey walked 16 out of 60 batters he faced, while allowing 15 earned runs over 10 innings. Opponents were batting .395 off him in that stretch. The capper was the last four outings, when he walked seven out of 13 batters.

“He threw so well early for us,” Dombrowski said. “He’s had control problems in his career at times, but never to this extent.”

Technically, you could argue that Purcey’s roster spot was needed for Doug Fister, since both Fister and Pauley were added to the roster at the same time. But the alliteration wouldn’t have been as good then.

Purcey clears waivers, sent to Triple-A
By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 08/10/11 9:18 PM ET

CLEVELAND -- The Tigers outrighted David Purcey to Triple-A Toledo on Wednesday after the lefty reliever cleared waivers. But if Mud Hens pitching coach A.J. Sager and others can help him find his command again after his summer spat of walks and wild pitches, the Tigers are leaving open the possibility that he returns.

"I would certainly think so," manager Jim Leyland said. "He pitched pretty good when he first got here, so go down there and get some innings with some type of consistency, and hopefully he'll be able to come up here. I haven't talked with Dave [Dombrowski] about it, but sure, he's a guy that we traded for because we liked him. Our scouts liked him. From what we knew about him, we liked him."

Wednesday's move completed the process that began when Detroit designated Purcey's contract for assignment eight days ago to make room for the newly acquired David Pauley on the roster. Since the Blue Jays used up Purcey's options before this season, he couldn't be directly sent to the Minor Leagues. But once he cleared waivers, he couldn't decline an assignment.

To bring Purcey back to Detroit, the Tigers would have to place him back on the 40-man roster.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

• philaphillies: RHP Dave Bush, C Steven Lerud & LHP David Purcey signed to Minor League contracts with invites to Spring Training. http://t.co/jKPTDowj
  

Dec 09, 2011