After being designated for assignment last week, Pirates outfielder Jose Tabata has been outrighted to Triple-A Indianapolis and accepted the assignment, reports MLB.com’s Tom Singer. The move is not a surprise, as had Tabata rejected the assignment he would have forfeited the remaining $8.5MM on his contract.
Here are some more outright-related moves from around the league…
- Both John Buck and Brennan Boesch have rejected outright assignments from the Angels in lieu of free agency, Angels director of communications Eric Kay announced (on Twitter). Buck, 34, picked up five plate appearances with the Halos this season after spending much of the season with the Mariners. The veteran batted .225/.289/.281 in 97 plate appearances overall on the year. Boesch, 29, hit .187/.203/.293 with a pair of home runs in 79 PA for the Angels. The duo was designated for assignment earlier this week when the Angels claimed Alfredo Marte and Roger Kieschnick on waivers.
I feel like Boesch could still be a good major league player. He hit .330 in AAA ball this year but the only team who gave him a real shot is the Tigers.
Agreed I think he was given too short of a leash and after a bad 2012 he was never given another chance.
There’s a JD Martinez hiding inside of Brennan Boesch…..someone has to find the light switch.
I disagree. It was painful to watch this guy hit with the tigers. He cannot hit a breaking ball to save his life and that’s all they throw to him. Although I hope a team gives him a chance to prove me wrong
If I’m a big market team I’d take a chance on claiming Tabata. If you get him for nothing except his contract he could still turn it around and become a steal.
Since the Pirates don’t have a respectable 3B at AAA, I would try out Tabata there. If he did a decent job, it may bring him back to the bigs again with some value. If Hansen wasn’t going to be the starting 2b in AAA, I would recommend the Pirates give him some reps there as well.
Interesting thought
Tabata would’ve been a better leadoff option than what at least five MLB teams used this year. He needs a change of scenery. There’s no place to put him in Pittsburgh now that Snider finally found his bat and Lambo is the 5th OF at MLB minimum.