Matt Eddy of Baseball America has this week's listings of comings and goings in the minors, and here are a few of the notable names on the move…
- Reliever Andrew Brown was dealt from St. Louis to Washington for future considerations. Brown last pitched in the majors in 2008 with Oakland, and he has a 3.84 ERA in 73 appearances between 2006-08. This is the fifth time Brown has been traded in his 10 seasons of pro ball, but it's by far the most low-profile deal; he's been involved in past trades for Gary Sheffield, Kevin Kouzmanoff and has twice been included in deals for Milton Bradley.
- The Tigers released Phil Dumatrait, and Eddy passes on the news that the left-hander has already caught on with the Korean Baseball Organization's LG Twins. Dumatrait was Boston's first-round pick (22nd overall) in the 2000 amateur draft, and he posted a 7.06 ERA in 42 major league appearances with Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.
- The Yankees have brought former prospect Rudy Guillen back into their system. Guillen briefly converted from the outfield to the mound in 2007, but then seemed to drop off of the radar for two seasons. Eddy reports that he is coming back as an outfielder once again.
- Eddy notes that catcher Carlos Maldonado, called up by the Nationals on Tuesday, could be in line for playing time as Stephen Strasburg's personal catcher given Washington's injury problems behind the plate and Maldonado's experience catching the superstar prospect at Triple-A. Maldonado last played in the majors in 2007 as a member of the Pirates. He has a .586 OPS in 50 major league plate appearances and a .689 OPS in 4097 minor league plate appearances.
Traded twice for Milton Bradley?
I wonder, in hindsight, what is more surprising. That the same player was included in two separate trades for Milton Bradley — or that more than one organization traded for Milton Bradley.
Best of luck to Phil. I liked him when he was with the Pirates and he was actually pretty decent when his stuff was working. I thought about maybe ordering a shirt of his, but thankfully I didn’t. He’s only 28, so if he does well with his new team hopefully he can come back to the ML. Good luck Phil.
Andrew Brown was actually traded from Washington to St. Louis. He is now on the Memphis roster. BA had this reversed.
“… Maldonado’s experience catching the superstar prospect at Triple-A.”
Not to belittle this, but it’s not as if he’s been catching Strasburg for years, or even months. It’s been a few weeks.