Here are the latest minor moves from around the baseball world…
- The Twins signed infielder Taylor Featherston and outfielder James Ramsey were among those signed to minor league contracts, as per their MLB.com transactions page. Featherston has a .477 OPS over 244 career PA with the Angels, Phillies, and Rays, and is best known as a defense-first player, primarily at second base but also seeing significant time at third and shortstop. Ramsey, chosen 23rd overall by the Cardinals in the 2012 draft, was dealt to Cleveland in a one-for-one trade for Justin Masterson in July 2014 but has since struggled to live up to his early potential. Ramsey has spent the last three seasons at the Triple-A level for the Indians, Dodgers and Mariners.
- The Brewers signed left-hander Mike Zagurski to a minors deal, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reports (via Twitter). Zagurski pitched in parts of five big league seasons with the Phillies, Diamondbacks, Pirates, and Yankees, last appearing in the Show during the 2013 campaign. Zagurski has since spent two seasons in Japan and pitched in the Tigers’ farm system in 2017.
- The Giants announced their player development staff for the upcoming season, including the hiring of former right-hander Matt Buschmann in one of five Assistant Director Of Player Development positions (Buschmann will focus on run prevention). Originally a 15th-round pick for the Padres in the 2006 draft, Buschmann spent 11 seasons in pro ball, though he didn’t pitch in 2017 after being released from his minor league deal with the Blue Jays in early April. Buschmann’s career did include a brief taste of the majors, appearing in three games (4 1/3 IP) for the Diamondbacks in April 2016. We at MLBTR wish Buschmann the best as he embarks on his post-playing career.
Why Zagurski tho? I know we need minor league fillers but does it need to be him?
Guys probably got no shortage of stories to tell with that track record. That’s gotta be worth something.
As long as he doesn’t stand atop the Miller Park mound then that’s fine.
Jalen Ramsey could probably cover the outfield pretty well.
If Mike Zagurski was a right handed pitcher, he would have been out of baseball years ago lol.
I remember a large number of Cardinals fans cried for days about trading the “future superstar” James Ramsey for Justin Masterson. For every Jeff Bagwell or John Smoltz trade, there are 10 like this one. Just something to keep in mind the next time your team trades a prospect for a vet.