The Rays have designated outfielder Johnny Field for assignment, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports (Twitter links). That opens 40-man space for the team to select the contract of catcher Adam Moore.
Field, 26, debuted this year and posted a .213/.253/.373 slash line with six home runs in 179 MLB plate appearances. Clearly, that’s not going to get it done, though it was only a first attempt at the game’s highest level. Field, who is capable of playing in the corners or up the middle defensively, has a .270/.320/.436 batting line in his 805 career plate appearances at Triple-A.
As for the 34-year-old Moore, this represents a return to the majors after a one-season absence. He had appeared in every one of the prior eight MLB campaigns, yet saw action in less than one hundred total games. Outside of a lengthy run in 2010, in fact, Moore has taken just 74 total plate appearances. H carries a .215/.259/.309 slash in 158 plate appearances this year at Triple-A.
I know Johnny wasn’t putting up the numbers to stay on the team. But man I just can’t justify potentially losing Him for a 34 year old catcher with little to no success in the majors.
The Royals should take a flyer on him!
If it means no more Paulo Orlando…im all for it.
Welcome to Baltimore, Johnny Field.
Nobody took a “flyer” on him when he was left exposed last winter in Rule 5……he’s a likeable enough player who plays hard, but at some point you have to have some talent in the tank, and it just isn’t there. You can find guys like him all over AAA and the waiver wire, most, BTW, who are better defensively than Fields (the recently released Lyriano, e.g.)
Bottom line: he’s a 5th OF for rosters that (nowadays) only carry 4.
I think he offers more than you are saying. I would love the Mariners to get him and put him in AAA for depth.
He has options. It’s a long shot for him being a useful ML piece but he’s relatively young and still has options remaining. The bar isn’t that high to be utility man and he plays a few spots.
Rule 5’s have to stay on the active roster, waiver claims do not.
Paging Dayton Moore! The Blu-light in aisle 7A is flashing…
I could see him in a Halo uni
When Field got the call telling him, he walked off himself slowly…
I’ll give you a chuckle out of pity but nothing more
Quoting only Field’s overall MLB slash line of .213/.253/.373 is a bit misleading.
He hit .271/.292/.500, including 4 HR and 35 TB in 73 PA, in May, his only month with halfway constant playing time. His .991 OF fielding with 4 A over 418.1 innings was good enough to be featured in the Rays’ own frequently shown TV highlight reel of spectacular plays.
Field’s offensive numbers dropped only when the Rays started benching him in June in favor of sporadic ABs. Nothing unusual for a rookie player.
Dumping a rookie player, who’s been in the system for over five years, after mere 50+ poor MLB PAs while simultaneously ignoring his better productive streak is insane and one of the reasons why the MLB gets increasingly less attractive. Before one really knows what a young player is capable of, he’s already gone. The excessive talent monopoly gets tiring really fast. I mean, what’s the Rays’ rush with the postseason, as usual, out of the picture? It’s not like they’re on the cusp of greatness.
Oh well, I hope Johnny finds a team, willing to give him a fair chance, soon.
I agree with you partially. He had a decent spring but after a nice May he got into some bad habits at the plate that led to him getting less playing time…not the other way around. All any pitcher had to do was to throw breaking stuff on the outer half and he had no chance.
And that’s exactly why a rookie player should be given at least a fair chance to adjust. 50 PAs over a period of little over a month ain’t it. If that’s enough to determine that a player, whom you drafted and who’s been in your system for over five years, is trash, then you better check your own player evaluation system.
How many superstar or at least stellar players are there on the roster of a team like Tampa Bay anyway? Dumping talent quicker than one can change his underwear might be one of the reasons why that franchise ranks among the league’s notorious underperformers.
Remember how Yankees fans wanted to trade Aaron Judge for a nickel and a bag of Cracker Jack in 2016 after his .179/.266/.345 performance through 84 ABs? MLB has become a circus full of clowns with ADHD.
This would all make sense if his minor league track record wasn’t average at best.