Roster Moves (6/11): Carlos Santana Called Up

Wally and I have decided to team up to get these a bit more current, so we should be caught up in the next day or two if all goes well. Anyway, here’s a look at the moves of June 11th, 2010… (after the jump)

AL East

The Boston Red Sox recalled RHP-Scott Atchison (34) from Triple-A Pawtucket. He had a 4.50 ERA in 14 innings for Boston earlier in the year and a 4.05 mark in 13 1/3 innings with Pawtucket. The righty struck out 17 in those 13 1/3 AAA innings. He’ll need to work in his plus curveball more to be an effective MLB reliever—he currently goes fastball/slider far too often. Atchison takes the roster spot of RHP-Joe Nelson (35), who was designated for assignment. With a 9.72 ERA in eight games this year and a 5.65 FIP last season, the veteran soft-tosser simply doesn’t have what it takes to be in the majors anymore.

That’s not all from Boston. The Red Sox also placed OF-Jeremy Hermida (26) on the 15-day DL with fractured ribs. They also optioned OF-Josh Reddick (23) to Pawtucket and activated RHP-Jonathan Papelbon (29) from the bereavement list.

AL Central

The Minnesota Twins placed SS-J.J. Hardy (27) on the 15-day DL with a sore left wrist. The wrist injury may have contributed to Hardy’s poor .217/.265/.333 start. Taking his place: AAA Rochester SS-Trevor Plouffe (23), a former first-rounder who has been stuck in Rochester for a few years. Plouffe was hitting .280/.338/.453 with six homers, and is considered a decent defensive shortstop capable of also handling many other positions.

The Cleveland Indians recalled highly-touted C-Carlos Santana (24) from AAA Columbus, where he was raking at a .307/.440/.568 clip. The switch-hitter isn’t that young for a rookie, and he isn’t the greatest of defenders, but there’s no question his bat is one of the best in the minors. Santana should be a phenomenally valuable player for many years.

To make room for Santana, the Indians optioned C-Lou Marson (23) to Columbus. I expected Marson to hit well in the majors entering the year, but it just hasn’t happened, as he hit just .191/.268/.262. The excellent K/BB ratios of his minor league career were nowhere to be found, as his season mark there is 36/14. At his age, Marson still holds considerable promise, and Cleveland fans should remember that Victor Martinez, Josh Bard, and Kelly Shoppach all had some initial struggles as Indians catchers before adjusting and becoming productive players (to varying degrees) in later years.

AL West

The Los Angeles Angels signed RHP-Daniel Cabrera (29) to a minor league deal. Cabrera was the worst starter in MLB last year, posting a horrid 16/35 K/BB before mercifully being sent packing by the Nationals (of all teams). Once a wild but promising giant in the Orioles organization, Cabrera now struggles to get his fastball into the 90’s, but still has poor control. Unless he’s made some huge strides, don’t expect him to see the majors—and if he gets there anyway, don’t watch, Angels fans. It could be ugly.

The Oakland A’s placed C-Kurt Suzuki (26) on the bereavement list and called up C-Landon Powell (28) from AAA Sacramento to fill in.

NL East

The Atlanta Braves placed OF-Nate McLouth (28) on the 15-day DL with concussion-like symptoms.

NL Central

The St. Louis Cardinals outrighted LHP-Tyler Norrick (26) to High-A Palm Beach, dropping him from the 40-man roster. Norrick had good strikeout numbers last year, but his control was very poor, and it regressed this year, leading to a 9.00 ERA in Triple-A.

NL West

The Los Angeles Dodgers signed RHP-Kiko Calero (35) to a minor league contract. Calero previously posted a 10.59 ERA in 17 innings for the Mets’ AAA affiliate, but he had a decent 16/9 K/BB, so he wasn’t the disaster that ERA implies. Calero relies heavily on his slider, throwing it over half the time, which has put a lot of strain on his arm over the years, leading to stretches of poor performance and DL stints. When healthy, though, Calero’s been dominant, and he had a tremendous 2009 with the Marlins (1.95 ERA, 2.56 FIP, 69 K in 60 IP with just 1 HR allowed).

The San Diego Padres placed OF-Matt Stairs (42) on the 15-day DL with a knee injury that he suffered while stealing his second base of the year. As much as I feel for Stairs, one of baseball’s real good guys, that’s kind of hilarious in a way. To his credit, he did lose 30 pounds in the offseason, and it’s not like anyone expects Stairs to run…But I digress. The Padres called up OF-Aaron Cunningham (23) from AAA Portland. I wrote more on that move over at Chicken Friars.

The San Francisco Giants placed struggling RHP-Todd Wellemeyer (31) on the 15-day DL with a right quad strain and called up RHP-Joe Martinez (27) from AAA Fresno to fill Wellemeyer’s fifth starter role.

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