River Avenue Blues

River Ave. Blues ยป Brian Schlitter

Awww Schlit: Brian’s gone

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Via Todd Zolecki, the Phillies have claimed reliever Brian Schlitter off waivers from the Yankees, who designated him for assignment yesterday to make room on the 40-roster for Andruw Jones. Schlitter, who was originally claimed off waivers from the Cubs last month, was actually in camp this morning and was scheduled to throw a bullpen session at some point today. Not sure if that happened, but Phillies camp isn’t far away from Tampa at all.

So I guess Schlitter is this year’s Shane Lindsay. Barely had time to get to know the guy.

It’s (finally) official: Andruw Jones is a Yankee

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At long last, the Yankees have officially announced that they have signed outfielder Andruw Jones. The two sides originally agreed to terms about four weeks ago, but for whatever reason the signing was delayed. Jones was issued number 18 and had a locker in the clubhouse today, so it was only a matter of time.

To make room on the 40-man roster, the Yankees have designated right-hander Brian Schlitter for assignment. They claimed him off waivers from the Cubs last month, but they have more pitchers in camp on minor league contracts than they know what to do with. Schlitter was nothing more than an up-and-down guy, so he drew the short straw. I’m surprised that Reegie Corona lived to see yet another day.

Yankees claim Brian Schlitter

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Via Carrie Muskat, the Yankees have claimed righty reliever Brian Schlitter off waivers from the Cubs. I’m guessing new pitching coaching Larry Rothschild had something to do with this. The 25-year-old made his big league debut in 2010, taking the place of Carlos Zambrano when he was suspended for one of his various tirades. He got rocked in eight appearances (8 IP, 18 H, 11 R, 5 BB, 7 K), but his minor league career features 8.6 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 190 IP (all relief). The Cubbies originally acquired him from the Phillies in exchange for Scott Eyre back in 2008.

Baseball America did not rank Schlitter among Chicago’s top 30 prospects in last year’s Prospect Handbook. The Baseball Info Solutions data at FanGraphs says he throws a fastball that averages 93 mph and a slider, so it’s a pretty generic repertoire. He’s a big boy though, listed at 6-foot-5, 235 lbs. on the Cubs’ official site. Schlitter’s just another arm for depth purposes, nothing wrong with another hard-thrower.