With the minor-league season all but cancelled, MLB is doing its level best to make sure the big boys stay home, too. The latest proposal is a blindingly obvious attempt to break the MLBPA. Meanwhile, news is starting to trickle in as to which teams will continue to pay its operational staff beyond May 31. Not surprisingly, the Nationals are among seven teams to have made no announcement.
Syracuse 8 Columbus 5 – 2013
• Young 1IP, 3H, 3R, 3ER, 2BB, 0K, HR
• Mandel (W, 1-1) 4IP, 6H, 2R, 2ER, BB, K
• Roark 4IP, 2H, 0R, BB, 4K
• Brown 3-5, 2R, HR, 2RBI
• Marrero 2-3, R, HR, 3RBI
• Rhymes 2-4, R, 2B, BB
Three Chiefs homered while Chris Young once again came up short on the mound as Syracuse sailed past Columbus, 8-5, for a four-game sweep. Despite a 4-0 cushion given to him in the top of the 1st, Young gave up three runs in the space of three batters before recording a single out with a single, walk, and a three-run HR (no. 9 in seven starts). Jeff Mandel and Tanner Roark combined for eight innings of relief for the win and save respectively. Chris Marrero, Carlos Rivero, and Corey Brown each homered as the Chiefs pummeled Clipper pitchers for 14 hits total. Picked 15th overall in the 2006 draft, Marrero hurtled through the minors like a runaway tortoise to make his MLB debut in August 2011. A torn left hamstring—suffered while playing winter ball—would limit him to 53G in 2012. He would recover to play 127G (16 with the big club) in 2013 but was DFA’d in October 2013 and became an MLFA. Marrero would bounce around AAA with the Orioles, the White Sox, and the Red Sox from 2014 to 2016 before the Giants put him on their Opening Day roster to begin 2017. He would be DFA’d again in late April and sent to AAA again. Marrero has been playing professionally in Japan since late May 2017.
Harrisburg 5 Richmond 2 – 2017
• Simms 6IP, 5H, 2R, 2ER, 0BB, 6K, HR
• Brinley (W, 3-2) 1IP, 1H, 0R, 1BB, 0K
• Suero (S, 8) 1IP, 1H, 0R, 1BB, 0K
• Ward 2-4, 2-2B
• Hernandez 2-4, 2B, RBI
• Abreu 2-4, R, 2B
Mario Lisson homered to tie it at 2-2 in the 5th and Neftali Soto homered to begin a three-run rally in the 8th for a 5-2 Harrisburg win. John Simms allowed both Flying Squirrel runs on five hits over six innings. He walked none and fanned six in his fifth no-decision in nine starts. The win went to Ryan Brinley, the save to Wander Suero; both worked around two baserunners in the 8th and 9th innings respectively. Drew Ward doubled twice, Yadiel Hernandez and Osvaldo Abreu once to account for all four doubles and six of the 12 hits by the Senators. Brinley went into witness protection in August 2017 and missed all of 2018 and 2019. He reportedly had Tommy John surgery in March 2019, thus he might have returned to action this season.
Potomac 9 Salem 6 – 2016
• Estevez 3IP, 3H, 4R, 4ER, 4BB, 1K, HR
• Spann (W, 1-0) 3IP, 2H, R, ER, 3BB, 2K
• Orlan (SV, 5) 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 1K
• Keller 3-4, R, 2B, 3B, 5RBI
• Marmolejos 2-3, 2R, 2B, 2BB, RBI
• Abreu 2-4, R, BB, 2RBI
Somehow this game took less than three hours despite 16 walks issued as Potomac outlasted Salem, 9-6 to take the series, 2-1. “The Weekend” came early for Wirkin Estevez, who started but was chased after three innings. Salem batters staked him for four runs on three hits, three via a homer in the 3rd, while walking four and setting down one (1) on strikes. Matt Spann followed with three innings of one-run relief to earn the win, his first, while R.C. Orlan pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for the save, his fifth. Alec Keller was a HR shy of the cycle as he went 3-for-4 with five RBI to lead the ten-hit, nine-walk offense. Picked up in a trade with Tampa Bay in September 2013, Spann would have a career year in 2014 as he won 11 games between Low- and High-A. He was promoted to AA in May 2015 but didn’t stick, returning to Woodbridge in June to finish the season. He converted to relief in 2016 but fared no better. He was released in August 2016 and hooked on with Bridgeport in the Atlantic League or the remainder of the season, his last as a pro.
Hagerstown 10 Greensboro 3 – 2015
• Dickey 2⅔ IP, 6H, 3R, 3ER, BB, 4K, HR, WP
• Cooper (W, 1-2) 2⅓ IP, 2H, 0R, BB, 0K, 2-0 IR-S
• Van Orden (SV, 2) 4IP, 4H, 0R, 0BB, K
• Carey 2-4, 2R, BB, 2HR, 3RBI
• DeBruin 2-5, 2B, 2RBI
• Read 0-2, R, 3BB, 2GIDP
Dale Carey homered twice and drove in three as the Suns scored the last seven runs in a 10-3 win over the Grasshoppers. Robbie Dickey was activated shortly before the game but was ineffective, giving up all three Greensboro runs on six hits and a walk over two and 2/3rds innings. The win went to Andrew Cooper, who stranded two in the 3rd and went two and a 1/3rd innings total. Expected starter Drew Van Orden tossed four shutout innings for the rulebook save. Grant DeBruin was the only other Hagerstown batter to record multiple hits, thanks to the Grasshopper pitchers issuing nine walks to enable ten runs to score on just eight hits. A 7th Rd. pick out of the Univ. of Miami in 2014, Dale “D.K.” Carey spent four seasons with the Nationals, topping out with two seasons at High-A Potomac. He was released at the end of Spring Training in 2018 and played with the Gary Southshore RailCats of the independent American Association for all of 2018. He played just 16 games last summer – 14 with the Sussex County Miners of the Can-Am League and two with the Lincoln Salt Dogs before he was released.