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"\"&lt;p&gt;When the Cubs took Corey Patterson with the third overall pick in&lt;br \\/&gt;\\n1998, he was supposed to be a cornerstone of their future success.&lt;br \\/&gt;\\nInstead, the Patterson era in Chicago ended with a whimper on Monday,&lt;br \\/&gt;\\nas the Cubs traded him to the Orioles for two Class A prospects, second&lt;br \\/&gt;\\nbaseman Nate Spears and lefthander Carlos Perez.\\n&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Patterson, 26, was the Cubs&amp;#8217; only homegrown regular in 2005,&lt;br \\/&gt;\\nbut he was also a major disappointment. A stubborn hitter who has been&lt;br \\/&gt;\\nunwilling and\\/or unable to make adjustments, he hit .215\\/.254\\/.348 with&lt;br \\/&gt;\\n13 homers, 34 RBIs and 15 steals in 126 games last year. His .602&lt;br \\/&gt;\\non-base plus slugging percentage was the second-worst among big&lt;br \\/&gt;\\nleaguers with at least 450 at-bats. Patterson has considerable strength&lt;br \\/&gt;\\nand speed, yet his performance has yet to come close to his tools. The&lt;br \\/&gt;\\nCubs are culpable as well, as Patterson never made many strides hitting&lt;br \\/&gt;\\nlefthanders, bunting or controlling the strike zone while he was being&lt;br \\/&gt;\\nrushed through the minors. His lack of accountability also hasn&amp;#8217;t&lt;br \\/&gt;\\nhelped. Patterson stood out the most on defense last year, playing a&lt;br \\/&gt;\\ngood center field while showing a strong arm for the position. He&amp;#8217;s&lt;br \\/&gt;\\narbitration-eligible after making $2.8 million in 2005. A career&lt;br \\/&gt;\\n.252\\/.293\\/.414 hitter with 70 homers, 231 RBIs and 86 steals in 589&lt;br \\/&gt;\\ngames, Patterson projects to start in center for Baltimore this year.\\n&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Spears, 20, was a 2003 fifth-round pick out of a Florida high&lt;br \\/&gt;\\nschool. He helped high Class A Frederick win the Carolina League&lt;br \\/&gt;\\nchampionship in 2005, batting .294\\/.349\\/.429 with six homers and 41&lt;br \\/&gt;\\nRBIs in 112 games. He doesn&amp;#8217;t have a standout tool, as he&amp;#8217;s a steady&lt;br \\/&gt;\\ndefender with solid speed and a slap-hitting approach. Spears, who has&lt;br \\/&gt;\\nplayed some shortstop in the minors, projects more as a utilityman than&lt;br \\/&gt;\\nas a regular. He has batted .286\\/.368\\/.416 with 12 homers and 97 RBIs&lt;br \\/&gt;\\nin 265 pro games.\\n&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Perez, 23, signed out of the Dominican Republic in 1999 and&lt;br \\/&gt;\\nspent his first four pro seasons in Rookie leagues. Last year was the&lt;br \\/&gt;\\nfirst he spent entirely in a full-season circuit, and he went 11-8,&lt;br \\/&gt;\\n4.28 in 27 starts at low Class A Delmarva. He had a 146-61 K-BB ratio&lt;br \\/&gt;\\nin 151 innings, while opponents hit .281 with 10 homers against him.&lt;br \\/&gt;\\nPerez&amp;#8217; best pitch is his 88-93 mph fastball. Scouts don&amp;#8217;t like his&lt;br \\/&gt;\\ndelivery, which inhibits his ability to work inside against&lt;br \\/&gt;\\nrighthanders, and his secondary pitches (a curveball and changeup) are&lt;br \\/&gt;\\nfringy. He has a career 25-27, 3.70 record in 93 pro games (68 starts).&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n\""^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.baseballamerica.com/majors/cubs-give-up-on-patterson-deal-him-to-orioles-805/>