CarterHud

                  The Atlanta Braves have signed 3B/RF Jose Bautista to a minor league deal, after not signing through Opening Day. And yes, that is correct. He is being signed as a third baseman, his original position, to fill their need at 3B.

                   Bautista is an experienced veteran, who has made six consecutive all-star teams, from 2010 to 2015. He has hit thirty homers four times, leading to three silver sluggers. He is a good player to add to the Atlanta locker room, or the Gwinnett one (AAA).

                   Bautista, 37, had a .203 batting average, with 23 homers and 65 RBIs in 686 Plate Appearances for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2017. In his MLB career for the Blue Jays, Pittsburgh Pirates, Baltimore Orioles, Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Kansas City Royals, Bautista has hit .250, with 331 homers, 927 RBIs and 66 stolen bases in 6845 Plate Appearances.

           The New York Yankees have selected the contract of OF Shane Robinson from AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, signing him to an MLB deal. Also, U Jace Peterson was designated for assignment.

           Injuries to outfielders Aaron Hicks, Jacoby Ellsbury, Clint Frazier and Billy McKinney have put a big hole in what was supposed to be a very strong Yankees OF depth chart. Plus, Giancarlo Stanton hasn\’t been able to hit his stride yet. So, with Stanton in left, Brett Gardner in center and Aaron Judge in right, it seems like a very good outfield. But, manager Aaron Boone prefers to put someone else on left and Stanton as the DH. So, with Robinson, a more natural outfielder than Peterson, a normal 2B, it makes more sense to bring him up.

           Robinson, 33, has a .226 batting average, six homers, 64 RBIs and 18 stolen bases in 795 career Plate Appearances for the St. Louis Cardinals, Minnesota Twins and Los Angeles Angels.

           Peterson, 27, went 3 for 9 in two games with the Yanks this season. In his MLB career for the Yanks, San Diego Padres and Atlanta Braves, Peterson has a .234 batting average, with 15 homers, 98 RBIs and 22 stolen bases in 1288 Plate Appearances.

           After a 15 year career, winger Patrick Sharp has officially retired from the NHL.

           After a career at the University of Vermont, Sharp was selected in the 3rd round (95th overall) by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2001 NHL draft. Sharp, a Winnipeg native, made his debut with the team the next season. After two and one half seasons with the team, Sharp was traded midseason to the Chicago Blackhawks with Eric Meloche for a 3rd round draft pick and Matt Ellison. That began the success of Sharp\’s career. Sharp went on to spend 10 seasons in Chicago, scoring twenty goals seven times and thirty four times. He also won three cups with the team. But a huge cap crunch forced Chicago to trade many of their better players. Michael Frolik, Dustin Byfuglien, Andrew Ladd, Brandon Saad and Sharp are prime examples of that. Sharp was traded with defenseman Stephen Johns to the Dallas Stars for defenseman Trevor Daley and Ryan Garbutt. Currently, only Johns remains with the organization they moved to after the trade. Sharp spent two seasons in Dallas, and saw age creep up on him in his second Dallas season, which he managed to appear in just 48 games. As a 36 year old free agent, Sharp decided to return to Chicago for an 11th season there, on a one year, $800,000 deal. After that season, which was this season, he announced his retirement.

            In all, for the Chicago Blackhawks, Dallas Stars and Philadelphia Flyers, Patrick Sharp scored 287 goals and 333 assists for 620 points in 939 games. That\’s a pretty solid NHL career.

            With injuries to outfielders Aaron Hicks, Jacoby Ellsbury, Clint Frazier and Billy McKinney, the New York Yankees looked to the recently DFA\’d pile to boost their depth. So, the team went out and claimed OF Trayce Thompson off waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers, and acquired LF/3B/DH Cody Asche from the Kansas City Royals for a player to be named later (PTBNL) or cash. Asche signed a minor league deal with the Royals this offseason, and isn\’t required to be added to the 40 man roster, while Thompson is, and was added while RHP Ben Heller was moved to the 60 day DL. Both were assigned to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (AAA). 

            Thompson, 27, hasn\’t played this year in the MLB. In his three year MLB career for the Dodgers and Chicago White Sox, Thompson has hit 19 homers and 50 homers, plus six stolen bases and a .233 batting average in 452 Plate Appearances. His brother, Klay Thompson, is an NBA star for the Golden State Warriors, and his father, Mychal Thompson, was the first overall pick in the 1978 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers.

             Asche, also 27, has a .234 batting average, 32 homers and 159 RBIs in 1349 Plate Appearances in his MLB career for the White Sox and Philadelphia Phillies.

         The Los Angeles Angels have acquired 2B/3B Ryan Schimpf from the Atlanta Braves in exchange for C Carlos Perez.

         For the Angels, starting second baseman Ian Kinsler was recently placed on the 10 day DL, leaving Kaleb Cowart as the starter, and Nolan Fontana as the backup. Schimpf adds more depth at second base behind Cowart, and Kinsler when he returns. With Martin Maldonado and Rene Rivera ahead of Perez on the depth chart, and Perez out of options, the time came to trade him.

         Schimpf, who will turn 30 in 10 days, hasn\’t played in this short season. In his two year career, all for the San Diego Padres, Schimpf has a .195 batting average, 34 homers and 76 RBIs in 527 Plate Appearances. This marks the third time Schimpf has been traded since the end of the 2017 season. The Padres traded him to the Rays, who traded him to the Braves, and now the Braves have traded him to L.A.

          For the Braves, Schimpf didn\’t crack the roster. He was just extra depth. Perez will slot above Chris Stewart as the third catcher. The Braves could go with three catchers, so Tyler Flowers and Kurt Suzuki can pinch hit.

          Perez, 27, hasn\’t played in this short season. In his MLB career, all for the Angels, Perez has a .224 batting average with 10 homers and 55 RBIs in 595 Plate Appearances.

          I think this is an even trade, since both teams get depth players at a needed position.