Roster Moves (6/12): Dice-K Hits the DL, Miguel Montero Finally Activated

I continue the back editions of Roster Moves with June 12, which was another busy day for baseball transactions (moves after the jump)…

AL East

The Boston Red Sox purchased the contract of OF-Daniel Nava (27) from Triple-A Pawtucket, where he was hitting .294/.364/.492. They also placed RHP-Daisuke Matsuzaka (29) on the 15-day DL with a forearm strain and recalled LHP-Dustin Richardson (26) from Pawtucket. The towering lefthander had walk trouble (24 in 32 1/3 IP) in Triple-A, but was otherwise stellar; a lack of a second pitch to go with his 90-92 mph heater could hurt him in the majors long-term

The Tampa Bay Rays placed OF-Gabe Kapler (34) on the 15-day DL with a hip flexor strain and recalled OF-Justin Ruggiano (28) from Triple-A Durham, where he was batting .291/.380/.406.

The New York Yankees, like the Rays, placed a lefty-mashing corner outfielder of their own on the DL and recalled a hot-hitting Triple-A veteran to replace him. In their case, it was OF-Marcus Thames (33) on the DL with a strained hamstring and OF-Chad Huffman (25) coming to the Bronx after hitting .279/.344/.416 with AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

AL Central

No moves to report.

AL West

The Texas Rangers recalled RHP-Alexi Ogando (26) from Triple-A Oklahoma City. The lanky righthander had a 2.05 ERA and 42 K in 30 IP between Double-A and Triple-A. He has a dynamic arsenal with a 94-99 mph fastball and 80-83 mph slider. He takes the roster spot of RHP-Rich Harden (28), on the DL yet again in his injury-ravaged career. A gluteal strain was the culprit this time for Harden.

Angels RHP-Jason Bulger (31) is the only pitcher in the majors who uses his curveball over 50% of the time, but that approach may have caught up to him, as he was placed on the DL with a sore right shoulder. RHP-Rafael Rodriguez (25) was recalled from AAA Salt Lake to take Bulger’s spot, which is a significant downgrade.

NL East

The Atlanta Braves called up INF-Brandon Hicks (24) from Triple-A Gwinnett to take the roster spot of OF-Nate McLouth (28), who was DL’ed the day before. Hicks didn’t do much to deserve the recall, though; he was at .211/.294/.292 in Triple-A.

NL Central

Cubs LHP-James Russell (24) was optioned to Triple-A Iowa. The rookie had a 4.71 ERA in 20 relief appearances, and struggled to locate his high-80’s fastball in the majors. RHP-Mitch Atkins (24) was recalled from Iowa to take his place. Atkins, like Russell, relies heavily on a slider, and it’s not clear that his upper-80’s fastball or his changeup will be enough to complement the breaker and give him sustained big league success.

NL West

The Los Angeles Dodgers placed LHP-Scott Elbert (24) on the inactive list after he left their Triple-A affiliate angry at being demoted on May 30. It’s tough to see what grounds he has for being upset: he walked three batters in 2/3 of an inning in his only big league appearance, and had 34 walks in just 43 1/3 innings in Triple-A. Elbert also had a relatively high 4.98 ERA in Triple-A.

The Arizona Diamondbacks optioned C-John Hester (26) to Triple-A Reno. Hester was batting just .188/.250/.250 with Arizona in 20 games. Hester’s demotion allowed the Diamondbacks to activate C-Miguel Montero (26) from the DL after he missed over two months recovering from knee surgery.

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