The latest minor moves from around baseball….
Latest Moves
- The Rays announced that left-hander Oliver Drake has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A, as Drake cleared waivers after being designated for assignment last week. This represents some rare stability for Drake, who has switched organizations seven times within the last nine months and became the first player to ever pitch for five different MLB teams in a single season. Drake posted a 5.29 ERA over 47 2/3 combined innings for his five clubs, with a 9.6 K/9 and 3.00 K/BB rate.
Earlier Today
- The White Sox reportedly signed corner infielder Chris Johnson to a minors contract, though he won’t receive an invitation to MLB Spring Training, per Fancred’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link). Johnson hit .275/.313/.404 over 2995 plate appearances for five different Major League teams from 2009-16, including an impressive 2013 campaign that earned him a three-year, $23.5MM extension from the Braves (which ultimately didn’t pan out for the team). Johnson spent 2017 in the Orioles’ farm system and didn’t play at all in 2018, so the 34-year-old will be attempting something of a comeback as he tries to catch on with Chicago.
- The Diamondbacks signed catcher Alberto Rosario to a minor league deal, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reports. The 32-year-old backstop will return for his second season in Arizona’s organization. Rosario hit .253/.288/.313 over 179 combined plate appearances for the Snakes’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates in 2018, missing over two months of the season to a pair of DL stints. A veteran of 13 professional seasons, Rosario appeared in 23 big league games with the Cardinals in 2016-17.
I legitimately didn’t know Chris Johnson was still playing. Good luck to him.
Technically since he didn’t last year you weren’t necessarily wrong
I’ll take what I can get, thanks.
He wasn’t. It said he didn’t play in 2018. Had that one really good season for the Braves.
Don’t we all wish we could babe one really good year in life to parlay into generational wealth!
I had no idea he still desired to play. Regardless, I hope all goes well for him.
These are my favorite types of Spring Training stories. I love comeback stories. I think it was last year or year before when Mark Mulder tried to make a comeback. I even remember when I was a kid, Jim Palmer trying a comeback after being inducted into the HOF. Most of them fail, but that doesn’t make the attempts any less compelling. If nothing else, it gives fans a chance to say goodbye.
It always makes me smile to see people from when I was younger when they resurface.
Does Rosario still weigh
165 pounds?
I’ve often wondered if those types of non counting stats are updated regularly…..
I was pumped when we got CJ back in the day. I thought he was very underrated. Great swing, but something unclicked
I was pumped when the Indians took him on to get rid of Swisher and Bourn too so I feel ya there
Yeah, he’s kind of a poster child for the notion that players who don’t walk flame out quickly; a huge babip-spike in his 28 year-old season returned to normal levels and since he didn’t offer anything else – power, speed, defense, etc, he didn’t have any value anymore.
Chris Johnson, Avi Garcia, Dee Gordon, etc.
Speaking of Johnson’s, I wonder what’s going on with former White Sox top prospect Micah? He is a FA but I haven’t seen his name pop up in any of the transactions yet. He would seem to be a candidate for a minor league contract with an invite to spring training. At this point of his professional career one might also think he would be a good candidate to seek a contract in Korea or Japan in order to bump his stock for a possible return to MLB in a year or two.
He batted 198 with 3 stolen bases in AAA last year. He’s done.
Fun fact about him, he’s a really talented artist.
Imagine if the Yankees had signed Johnson. People would be talking about him taking andujars spot and how he’d be a great player for the yanks.
I may be recalling wrong but I seem to remember Johnson wearing out his welcome with a couple of teams as far as being a problem in the clubhouse. I wish I could remember specifics.
I know he had a dugout shoving with Terry Pendleton while he was with the Braves but I don’t know if that had anything with wearing out his welcome.
It’s hard to know how another aging outfielder fits the Sox rebuilding plan. John Jay will be a useful 4th outfielder and he can be an excellent long-term substitute in the event of injury. With all the hot prospects the Sox claim to have in the minors, it’s just hard to see how Johnson can contribute. Still, I wish him well.
The Chris Johnson signing looks like a stopgap in case the Manny Machado deal falls through. Or he could just be a depth piece. Hard to tell.
Doubt anyone in the Chicago FO sees him that way. CJ nothing more than depth at this point.
“Stopgap” in my opinion would have to be someone at least as productive as Neil Walker or Josh Harrison as recently as 2017 or 2018.
Congrats to Oliver Drake
Drake is a right-handed pitcher (story says lefty).
Speaking of old friends. Has anyone heard if Melky Cabrera has found a home for 2019?
He did pretty good for Cleveland last year.
Oliver Drake is a right-hander.
Hope he stipulates in his contract that his new team pays for his moving expenses!