SB Nation - Andy Gonzalez

Andy Gonzalez and Graham Taylor outrighted

craig — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 14:13:41 -0000

There as been a shakeup in the Marlins 40-man roster with Andy Gonzalez and Graham Taylor being outrighted.

The Marlins outrighted infielder Andy Gonzalez to Triple A New Orleans and left-handed pitcherGraham Taylor to Double A Jacksonville. The team now has 39 players on its 40-man roster.

I have thought about this for the better part of five to ten seconds and the only thing I came up with was that the Marlins are planning to move Anibal Sanchez off the 60-day DL and back onto the 40-man roster.

Naturally, this is just a guess and maybe you can come up with something better. But if the Marlins were looking to add an infielder, you know, one that could play shortstop and other positions, Andy would still be on the roster. Or if the Marlins were looking to add an outfielder, you know, one that is a legitimate player of the field, the Marlins wouldn't have had to make this move. Carroll is already on the 40-man. Which leads me to believe that the club thinks Anibal is very close to ready.

I may be off by a mile on this one.

Rick VandenHurk recalled, A. Gonzalez sent down

craig — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 08:58:30 -0000

The Marlins made a move after the game recalling Rick VandenHurk to make Monday's start. Andy Gonzalez was sent to New Orleans.

Pitcher Rick VandenHurk was recalled from Triple A New Orleans after Sunday's game to start for the Marlins against the San Diego Padres on Monday at Petco Park.

Infielder Andy Gonzalez was optioned to New Orleans to make room on the roster.

The Incredible Hurk has pitched very well in Triple-A since returning from injury after the participating in the WBC. VandenHurk has made eight starts giving up 6.3 H9, 2.1 BB9 and 8.2 K9.

The interesting thing will be to see what they do with him after the game since the Marlins won't need a fifth starter again until Aug. 1st. They could send him down immediately after the game to keep him on normal rest and recall him for the Aug. 1 start. Or they may feel given the way things are going lately, they need two long relievers in the bullpen. I mean the Hopper can't pitch three innings every day.

Whatever the plan is, we will know after tonight's game.

Alfredo Amezaga back

craig — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 19:17:16 -0000

As I'm sure all of you who saw yesterday's game know, Alfredo Amezaga has rejoined the Marlins.

Super utility man Alfredo Amezaga returned to the active roster Sunday after injuring his knee while playing for Mexico at the World Baseball Classic more than a month ago.

Infielder Andy Gonzalez, who also played in the WBC, was sent to Triple-A to make room.

It is nice to have the amazing one back, but I do feel a little sorry for Andy since he didn't get an AB in the majors. Sadly, he was relegated to Andino's old role of just sitting on the bench and talking to Fredi. While Fredi may be one great guy to have a conversation with, I know I would love to have the opportunity, I'm guessing Andy wanted more out of his first time with the big club. Unfortunately for him, that didn't happen. But oh well, he did a get a bump in pay for five games. Maybe he can buy a new set of tires. (One day I'm going to have to explain the new set of tires thing.)

Alfredo Amezaga looking good

craig — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 19:05:00 -0000

Alfredo Amezaga's rehab seems to be going along nicely.

Alfredo Amezaga, on the disabled list with a sprained left knee, made a rehab assignment appearance on Thursday night at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter. The way he was moving around, at the plate and in center field, is very encouraging.

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Leading off the game, Amezaga slapped a single to right field after running the count to 3-1. His leg gave him no troubles while running the bases.

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In center field, he covered a lot of ground and looked smooth running down some routine fly balls.

Because he is on the DL retroactive to March 27, the earliest Amezaga can return to the Marlins is on Saturday.
The plan is to test his knee at multiple positions -- center field, shortstop and second base.

I hate it when the software changes the fronts for no reason and I don't have time to fix it. But be that as it may.

If they are going to test Alfredo's knee at multiple positions, there is no way he will be back with the big club by Saturday. Which is good news for Hammerheads players since they will be eating well.

If you are an Andy Gonzalez fan hope that he gets into a game real soon because I think his days of wearing the teal are numbered.

Alfredo Amezaga rehabbing with Hammerheads

craig — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 15:45:08 -0000

Alfredo Amezaga is going to be with the Hammerheads for his rehab.

Amezaga, the Marlins all-purpose player, will be in the Hammerheads lineup Thursday, Friday and Saturday against Palm Beach at Roger Dean Stadium. He will play one game at second base, one in centerfield and one at shortstop.

If all goes well, he could rejoin the Marlins in time for Sunday’s weekend series finale against the Mets.

I was betting that he would've done the extended spring training thing, however, this is great news for the players on the Hammerheads. For you see, Alfredo has to, do to tradition, buy the post-game spread. The Hammerheads don't have to go to Checkers after the game. Nope, a "glorious meal" will be provided courtesy of Amezaga.

Hopefully, Andy Gonzalez will get to see some action very soon, 'cause I'm guessing he will be the odd man out when Alfredo returns.

Casey Blake traded to Dodgers, Carmona activated from DL, Laffey sent down, Reyes acquired from Cardinals

Jay — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 19:04:50 -0000

The Indians have traded Casey Blake to the Dodgers for two quality prospects — Carlos Santana, a 22-year-old catcher who has been dominating the Advanced-A California League with a 993 OPS, and Jon Meloan, a reliever in Triple-A who just turned 24. Reports that a deal was close leaked out this morning and have been confirmed by Dodgers GM Ned Colletti.

Santana leads all minor leaguers with a staggering 96 RBI in just 99 games — yeah, I know it's an "idiot stat," but that is just a ton of RBI. With the caveat that we don't really know the relative park factors, Santana is hitting almost exactly as far above league average as Victor Martinez was in 2001, at the same age and level. His batting line is stunningly without flaw — .323 / .431 / .563, 16% walk rate, 1.74 ISO, 52 extra base hits and 69 walks against only 59 strikeouts. Optimistically, he'll be ready for the majors around 2010 or 2011, which coincidentally are Martinez and Shoppach's respective walk years.

Meloan dominated as a reliever last season in Double-A and Triple-A, but he struggled this season as the Dodgers attempted to make him into a starter. The Indians probably are interested in converting him back to the bullpen, where the club badly needs a few more strong, potential contributors in 2009. Meloan has two more option years remaining after this season.

One somewhat surprising detail of the deal is that the Indians will send the Dodgers cash to cover all of Blake's remaining salary for the season, about $2.2 million. This is an unusual detail in a deal that isn't essentially one team ridding itself of part of a horrendous contract, and it's especially unusual when the team receiving the money has a much larger budget for player salaries ($118 million) than the team sending it ($78 million).

That said, the arrangement is not so unusual considering the Indians' history of deals under Dolan and Shapiro. In most of the famous 2002 deals, the Indians passed up chances to shed payroll, opting instead essentially to continue paying the player they were giving up (Chuck Finley then, Blake now) or to take on "payroll steerage" to even the books (Lee Stevens in the Colon deal). By agreeing to shoulder an extra cash burden, the Indians consistently have given teams an added incentive to include better talent in these deals — given Blake's fairly marginal value over the next nine weeks, one could argue that the Dodgers have essentially sold the Indians a terrific catcher prospect for the bargain price of $2.2 million.

The Indians did not send the Brewers any cash in the Sabathia deal, which saved the club approximately $5.4 million and probably contributed to their generosity in this and any further trades.

In a separate and unrelated deal, the Indians have acquired RHP Anthony Reyes from the Cardinals for RHP Luis Perdomo. Reyes, 26, has had a solid season in Triple-A with a 3.25 ERA over 11 starts but fared poorly in ten appearances as reliever for the big-league club. Perdomo, 24, utterly dominated much younger Carolina League competition, and he's pitched well since being promoted to Double-A earlier this month. Neither is considered a significant prospect.

Reyes famously shut down the Tigers in Game One of the 2006 World Series, playing a key part in the 82-win club's improbable postseason run to a title. He has struggled to find any lasting success in the majors, however, with just 10 wins in 38 starts and a career ERA+ of 82. Ironically, the Cardinals to talked seriously to the Indians about acquiring Reyes this past offseason, in exchange for another young starter experiencing serious career difficulties — Cliff Lee.

The Indians presumably are looking at Reyes as a fifth starter option for the rest of this season, giving them a credible option especially in the event they trade Paul Byrd by August 31. Reyes will be out of options after this season, however, making him a non-option as a sixth or seventh starter in 2009. It's unlikely the Indians will see him as a quality option for the rotation next year, so barring key injuries in Spring Training, he likely will be off our 40-man roster by the end of next March, one way or another.

But wait — there's more!

The Indians have activated Fausto Carmona from the Disabled List to start tonight's game against the Twins, his first start in the majors in over two months. He's, like, awesome, and we have him signed until, like, forever.

Aaron Laffey was optioned to Buffalo to make way for Carmona. Laffey was suppressed runs like crazy in his first two months, garnering a 2.83 ERA over 11 starts despite poor K/BB numbers, 30/19 over 70 IP. The league seemed to catch up to him in his last five starts, in which he allowed 27 runs (22 earned) in just 23.2 IP. A trip to Buffalo might help him catch his breath, or it might just help the Indians keep him an extra year.

Andy Gonzalez has been called up to take Blake's spot on the active roster. He can't really hit at all, but he has played 26 games at 2B for the Bisons this season, plus 15 or more games at each of four other positions: 3B, 1B, SS and LF. Travis Hafner was moved from the 15-day DL to the 60-day DL, a formality with little consequence other than opening up a spot on the 40-man roster for a few months. Reyes and Meloan take the 40-man spots vacated by Hafner and Blake.