Minor MLB Transactions: 7/7/19

Here are the latest moves from around the minors…

• Cody Decker is retiring from pro baseball, as officially confirmed by the Triple-A Reno Aces.  The 32-year-old Decker ended his career on a remarkable high note, hitting a walkoff homer on Friday to end his final game.  A UCLA product who was selected in the 22nd round of the 2009 draft by the Padres, Decker logged 3843 plate appearances over 1033 games in the minor leagues.  After spending his first seven years in San Diego’s farm system, Decker bounced around to five other organizations within the last four seasons, including two years in Reno, the Diamondbacks’ top affiliate.  Though Decker’s only MLB experience consisted of eight games for the Padres in 2015 (that saw him go hitless in 11 at-bats), his lengthy minor league career and colorful personality made him something of a folk hero to teammates and fans.  Decker hit .260/.341/.517 in the minors, and his 204 homers were the most of any active minor leaguer.  We at MLBTR wish Decker the best in his post-playing career!
• The Rays have signed right-hander Jason Garcia to a minor league deal.  The move was announced by the Twitter feed of the independent American Association, as Garcia had been pitching for the Sioux City team since being let go by the Rockies’ Double-A affiliate last season.  Originally a 17th-round pick for the Red Sox in 2010, Garcia has a 4.94 ERA, 1.58 K/BB rate, and a 7.2 K/9 over 526 career innings in the minors, though he had posted some strong numbers for Sioux City (including a 2.73 ERA over 56 frames this season).  Garcia’s only taste of the big leagues was back in 2015, when he posted a 4.25 ERA over 29 2/3 relief innings for the Orioles.