Here are today’s minor moves from around the game.
- The White Sox have announced that they’ve selected the contract of righty Chris Beck to be the 26th man for the second game of their doubleheader today. Beck, 24, has made his way through the minors with few strikeouts but strong control, posting 5.4 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 since the White Sox drafted him in the second round in 2012. This season, he had a 4.78 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 1.4 BB/9 in 26 1/3 innings with Triple-A Charlotte.
- The Reds have signed outfielder Jose Constanza to a minor-league deal, according to MLB.com’s transactions page. The 31-year-old Constanza collected 240 plate appearances with the Braves from 2011 through 2014, batting .273/.316/.323. He spent most of last season with Triple-A Gwinnett. The Braves released him last month.
- The Blue Jays have signed veteran starter Joel Pineiro to a minor-league deal and assigned him to Double-A New Hampshire, Jays broadcaster Mike Wilner tweets. Pineiro, 36, last pitched in the big leagues with the Angels in 2011. He pitched briefly in the Cubs and Angels systems in a comeback bid last season, then pitched winter ball in Puerto Rico.
- The Brewers will sign infielder Chris Nelson to a minor-league deal, according to SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (Twitter links). The Phillies recently released Nelson from their minor-league deal with him. The five-year veteran played briefly with the Padres in 2014. The former first-round pick has a career line of .265/.311/.388, with many of his at-bats coming in hitter-friendly Coors Field.
- The Padres have outrighted catcher Wil Nieves to Triple-A El Paso, according to the MLB.com transactions page. The Padres designated Nieves for assignment earlier this week to make room for top prospect Austin Hedges. It’s unclear whether Nieves will accept his outright assignment or opt for free agency. Nieves appeared in just six games for the Padres this year.
- The Cubs have outrighted righty Anthony Varvaro, also according to the MLB.com transactions page. The Cubs recently claimed Varvaro from the Red Sox and then designated him for assignment on Wednesday. He did not appear in a game for them. He pitched in nine games for Boston earlier this season.
- The Athletics have released outfielder Alex Hassan, according to the Pacific Coast League transactions page. That news might actually come as a relief to Hassan, who had been claimed five times in the past seven months. The A’s designated Hassan for assignment yesterday.
- The Angels have released corner infielder Ryan Wheeler, via the Pacific Coast League transactions page. They had claimed the 26-year-old from the Rockies last August. Wheeler, who played briefly in the big leagues in 2012, 2013 and 2014, was hitting .291/.304/.418 for Triple-A Salt Lake, although he has a track record of hitting for better power at the Triple-A level.
- The Rays have announced that they’ve placed Alex Cobb, who’s having Tommy John surgery, on the 60-day DL and selected the contract of 23-year-old righty Andrew Bellatti. Bellatti had struck out 20 batters in 21 1/3 innings at Triple-A Durham this season, posting a 2.11 ERA, pitching as a starter even though he had spent most of the previous three seasons working in relief. As Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times explains, it’s been a strange path to the Majors for Bellatti, a 2009 draft pick who spent a few months in jail for vehicular manslaughter following a 2010 car accident.
nobody wanted to take a chance on varvaro, even to be the 6-7 man in the bullpen?
The Cubs had him in the pen in the 7th the other night he just never made it out .
Waiting for the Red Sox to take a stab on Wheeler. They can use another third baseman.
Why? We have Pablo and then Cechini in Pawtucket.
They should do something about this play of claim-relieve a player multiple times sometimes by the same team. Same for shortening the games, what is the benefit of a 15-18 inning game? Just exhausting both teams. Cut it at 12 at most and find another way to name a winner or just call it a draw after 11-12 innings.
once a game goes into extra innings it’s up to the managers to decide on how long a pitcher goes. after the 10th, they’ll usually bring in a longman/swing starter to let him finish out or even let a non pitcher come into the game –basically throwing in the towel. of course the trouble is these days of 12 man staffs, not many position players are around to use.
Tying? There’s no tying in baseball
Find another way to name a winner? What do you suggest, a home run derby? I’m sorry, but one of the best things about baseball is the fact that it doesn’t rely on a clock to end the game. I’ve seen a lot of bad ideas, but this one might be the worst I have ever seen.
I did not suggest anything as it is not up to me to decide that. Could be number of hits or just call it a draw. Hockey found a way to make things better, or volleyball and soccer also. Even in football you have a draw but no, in baseball Ray wants to play a game for ever because that is fun, even if he goes to bed after the 8th inning. See, I can be rude too…And by the way, why are they trying to speed up the game, talking about clock?
There is an easy way around your situation. If the game goes on for too long…. Don’t watch. Most baseball fans do not want baseball to turn into hockey or basketball or any other sport. Extremely long extra inning games do not happen that often… It’s not an everyday occurrence.
As far as releasing players, that too is part of the game and part of life. If you hired an employee and he is not able to perform would you keep them on the payroll?
And I am not watching of course..as most of the seats were empty after 11-12th inning in the big rivalry game RS vs Yankees which lasted forever. Well, but of course we can be conservative and do no changes. I would even shorten the season to favor the play offs. Cut 6 games or more and would be more fun. But of course, money will be lost so neah, let’s keep it at 162. Maybe 182 would be even better and so on…
182 would be even better and so on… reductio ad absurdum is never a good argument. There’s an easy way to shorten the length of the season… add One doubleheader a month. Tell me, just exactly how many agonizingly long extra inning games have you had to suffer through in your lifetime?
I am not sure why my post has been deleted, I just gave a link to an article about extra inning games..anyway, there were 239 extra inning games in 2013, 227 in 2011 and so on.
Out of 2430 games…roughly 10%. 239 was the record and btw…10% is roughly the average since the 1950’s
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Thank you, I was not aware about that.
Constanza should have been brought up and braves should have let eric young jr go
I have no idea why the Braves are playing EYJr. over Maybin. Maybin is still young enough and talented enough to have upside. EYjr. is a cipher, offensively and defensively. At least Maybin plays a good center field.