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Let’s Remember Some Guys from the RAB Era

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Dramatic photo for Dustin Moseley. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

There are five days remaining in the RAB era. We’ve been at this — I’ve been at this — more than 12 years now and it’s time to move on to something else. RAB started as a passion project and the passion is not there anymore. It’s become a burden. It sucks, and I am bummed about it, but it is time.

Since RAB launched in February 2007, the Yankees have played over 2,000 meaningful games, and 319 different players have worn pinstripes. The leader in plate appearances during the RAB era? Brett Gardner. He has roughly 600 more plate appearances than second place Derek Jeter. CC Sabathia of course leads in innings. He’s thrown nearly twice as many innings as second place Andy Pettitte.

We’ve been fortunate enough to watch some all-time great players these last 12 years. Jeter, Sabathia, Pettitte, Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, Mark Teixeira, Aaron Judge, on and on it goes. We’ve also seen an army of bit players and up-and-down guys. Most don’t contribute much. Everyone once in a while one of those guys does something memorable though.

Since we’re closing up shop soon, I figured it would be fun to go back through the years and Remember Some Guys. I scrolled through 12 seasons worth of rosters, picked out some names that stood out for one reason or another, and now we’ll pay homage to the random players who suited up for the Yankees. Come with me, won’t you?

Anthony Claggett

Y’all remember the first series at the new Yankee Stadium? The Yankees lost two of three to the Indians and got clobbered in the series finale. The final score: 22-4. Only the fourth time in franchise history the Yankees allowed 20+ runs. It is still the only time the Yankees have allowed more than 15 runs in a regular season game at the new Yankee Stadium. I remember that series for the collective shock at how small the ballpark played. Pretty funny thinking about it now.

Claggett came over in the Gary Sheffield trade with the Tigers and he made his MLB debut in that 22-4 loss. It did not go well:

Zoinks. Claggett made only two more appearances in his big league career (one with the Yankees and one with the Pirates) and he finished with eleven runs allowed in 3.2 innings. The highest ERAs in baseball history (min. 3 IP):

  1. Lewis: 60.00 ERA (20 earned runs in three innings)
  2. Dave Davidson: 30.00 ERA (ten earned runs in three innings)
  3. Steve Dixon: 28.80 ERA (16 earned runs in five innings)
  4. Jim Brady: 28.42 ERA (20 earned runs in 6.1 innings)
  5. Anthony Claggett: 27.00 ERA (eleven earned runs in 3.2 innings)

It is literally just Lewis. He’s some guy who pitched for the 1890 Buffalo Bisons. Not the best company for Claggett.

Colin Curtis

I think you might remember the first and only home run of Curtis’ career. In July 2010, he replaced Brett Gardner after Gardner was ejected for arguing balls and strikes in the middle of an at-bat. Curtis inherited an 0-2 count and whacked a home run. Check it out:

Curtis only played 17 more games in his big league career and went 4-for-32 (.125) in those 17 games. Pinch-hit home run as a Yankee in 2010, out of baseball by 2013. Rough. As far as random Yankees homers go, Curtis is right near the top during the RAB era.

Matt DeSalvo

Longtime RAB and DotF readers will remember Mighty Matt DeSalvo. The Yankees signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2003 and he worked his way into their top prospect mix during the farm system’s lean years from 2003-05. From 2003-06, DeSalvo pitched to a 3.63 ERA in 439.1 minor league innings and that was during the peak of the box score scouting era. The numbers were good and therefore he was a good prospect.

DeSalvo was the guy everyone wanted the Yankees to call up, and they eventually called him up in 2007, and in his first start he held the Mariners to one run in seven innings. Next time out: Two runs in 6.2 innings against those same Mariners. Things went downhill after that (17 runs in 14 innings) but hell yeah Mighty Matt. Those 27.2 innings in 2007 represent his only stint with the Yankees (he also threw two innings with the Braves in 2008).

Before hanging up his spikes in 2016, DeSalvo pitched everywhere from the Bronx to Atlanta to China to various Caribbean countries to independent leagues. Twelve seasons in professional baseball with some big league time is a hell of a career for an undrafted free agent.

Freddy Guzman

That is World Series Champion Freddy Guzman to you. Guzman was on the postseason roster for the entire 2009 World Series run as the designated pinch-runner. He pinch-ran twice during the ALCS, neither stole a base nor scored a run, and that was it. No appearances in the ALDS or World Series. Hey, it’s good work if you can get it. Guzman last played in Mexico in 2017.

Darnell McDonald

Man did McDonald get hosed. The Yankees claimed him off waivers from the Red Sox in July 2012 specifically so they could use his righty bat against Boston’s lefty starters in an upcoming series at Fenway Park. He went 0-for-4 in the three-game series before being dropped from the roster. McDonald had to cut his dreads, which his daughter loved and he’d been growing for more than two years, to get four at-bats with the Yankees. The hair policy is just ridiculous.

Juan Miranda

It was a big deal when the Yankees signed Miranda. They gave him a four-year deal worth $2M in December 2006, though he wound up spending the next few years as an up-and-down depth guy. Miranda never hit much in the big leagues, but I do remember him hitting this moonshot:

Miranda also drew a walk-off walk against the Red Sox in 2009. He hasn’t played in the big leagues since 2011 but he was active as recently as 2017 in the Mexican League.

Dustin Moseley

I remember Moseley for two things. One, the photo at the top of the post. Very cool and dramatic photo for … Dustin Moseley. And two, Game One of the 2010 ALCS. The Rangers scored five runs in four innings against CC Sabathia, then Moseley struck out four in two scoreless innings out of the bullpen, giving the offense enough time to claw back and take the lead. He earned the win for that.

Moseley threw 65.1 swingman innings with a 4.96 ERA for the Yankees in 2010. He spent a few years in the big leagues with the Angels and Padres in addition to the Yankees, so he wasn’t some random player who only made like four MLB appearances. I assume Moseley is pro-DH. He wrecked his shoulder taking a swing while with San Diego and basically never recovered.

Rico Noel

Run run Rico. Noel was the designated pinch-runner in September 2015 and he actually had an impact. He pinch-ran 12 times, stole five bases, and scored five runs. That’s a lot of action for the late-season pinch-runner. Their impact is often very overstated. Noel was on the AL Wild Card Game roster that year as well, though he was not used.

As the story goes, Noel talked the Yankees into signing him to serve as the designated September pinch-runner after getting released by the Padres. Joe Girardi made sure to give Noel some at-bats in the final regular season series too. He went 1-for-5 with an infield single. September 2015 was Noel’s first and so far only big league stint. He spent the last two seasons in independent leagues. He may not have gotten a ring out of it, but Rico had more of an impact on the field than Guzman.

Chris Parmelee

I spent a good 15 minutes looking and I can’t find it, but somewhere on the internet is a video of skinny and baby-faced Dellin Betances facing Parmelee in a high school showcase event prior to the 2006 draft. I remember coming across it a few times back in the day. Can’t find it now though. Alas.

Anyway, at one point in 2016 the Yankees used four different starting first basemen in a 12-game span, and roster moves were involved each time. Mark Teixeira to Rob Refsnyder to Chris Parmelee to Ike Davis. Teixeira got hurt, Refsnyder wasn’t very good, then Parmelee got hurt. Parmelee went 4-for-8 with a double and two homers in his brief time in pinstripes. Remember this game?

The next day — literally the very next day — Parmelee blew out his hamstring stretching for a throw at first base. Even though they didn’t make the postseason, the 2016 season was a very important one for the Yankees given their trade deadline moves and late-season call-ups. First base was a total mess that season though. Teixeira was hurt and unproductive much of the year, and Parmelee was one of several short-term fill-ins.

Scott Patterson

Patterson was the bullpen version of DeSalvo. An undrafted free agent (technically an independent league signing) who put up shiny numbers and was supposed to be the next bullpen savior. From 2006-07, Patterson threw 116 minor league innings with a 1.44 ERA and 136 strikeouts. The Yankees called him up 2008, he made his MLB debut as an almost 29-year-old, and he allowed one run in 1.1 innings at the Metrodome in Minnesota.

And that was it. Patterson was lost on waivers to the Padres soon thereafter. He appeared in four games with San Diego before settling in as a Triple-A journeyman. Patterson was last active in 2016, when he split the season between the Italian Baseball League and an independent league. Patterson and Colter Bean were the poster boys for the “he has great numbers call him up the bullpen needs him!” era.

Gregorio Petit

Petit was the infield version of Mike Tauchman of 2015. The Yankees got him in a minor trade right at the end of Spring Training and he made the Opening Day roster because Brendan Ryan was dealing with a calf injury. Petit went 7-for-42 (.167) with the Yankees and drove in five runs, including three on this swing:

Petit, Luis Cruz, Brent Lillibridge, Cody Ransom, Dean Anna, Cole Figueroa … we’ve seen plenty of random short-term utility infielders over the years. At least Petit is still playing. He spent some time in the big leagues with the Twins last year.

Brett Tomko

No Tomkos! Tomko is definitely the most accomplished player in our Remember Some Guys post. Dude spent 14 seasons in the big leagues, including a few weeks with the Yankees in 2009. He allowed 12 runs in 20.2 relief innings that season. I could be remembering incorrectly, but it felt like Tomko was always being mentioned as a possible spot starter while the Yankees cycled through Sergio Mitre and Chad Gaudin types. I remember him most for his post-meltdown painting sessions.

Season Review: Miscellaneous Position Players

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As we wrap up our seemingly never-ending review of the 2012 season, it’s time to look back on the last handful of position players. These are the guys who spend some time on the big league roster this year but not much, ultimately contributing little in the grand scheme of things.

(Mike Stobe/Getty Images)

Dewayne Wise
He was sparingly used during his three months on the roster, but the 34-year-old Wise hit .262/.286/.492 (106 wRC+) in 63 plate appearances for the Yankees. He also retired both batters he faced while pitching in a blowout loss. The team originally recalled him to fill Brett Gardner’s roster spot before cutting him loose following the Ichiro Suzuki trade. Wise went 9-for-18 with a double, a triple, and three homers during an eight-game stretch in late-June/early-July, but his greatest contribution to the club — besides the bunt that turned the season around — was his non-catch against Indians in late-June.

Chris Dickerson
Had the 30-year-old Dickerson not been on the minor league DL early in the season, chances are he would have been recalled to take Gardner’s spot instead of Wise. He instead had to wait until rosters expanded in September, and he went 4-for-14 (.286) with two homers and three steals in his limited playing time. Most of his action came as a defensive replacement in the late innings. I like Dickerson more than most and think he can be a useful left-handed platoon outfielder who also provides speed and defense, but it’s obvious the Yankees aren’t interested in giving him an opportunity. For shame.

(Elsa/Getty)

Melky Mesa
Mesa, 25, was the team’s only true rookie position player this year. He came up when rosters expanded in September and only appeared in three games — one as a pinch-runner and two as a late-innings replacement in blowouts. Mesa did pick up his first career hit and RBI in his first big league plate appearance, singling on a ground ball back up the middle. His most notable play was a base-running blunder, when he missed the bag while rounding third base on an Alex Rodriguez single in extra-innings against the Athletics. Mesa would have scored the game-winning run, but alas. Rookie mistake.

Darnell McDonald
The Yankees got a little cute prior to the All-Star break, claimed the right-handed hitting McDonald off waivers from the Red Sox before heading up to Fenway for a four-game set. The Sox were set to throw three left-handed starters in the four games, so the 34-year-old figured to see some playing time against his former team. McDonald instead received just four plate appearances, made outs in all of them, and collided with Curtis Granderson in center field. A run scored on the play. Embedded Red Sox? Embedded Red Sox.

Ramiro Pena
Rakin’ Ramiro was on the roster for less than a week this season. The Yankees called him up after Alex Rodriguez had his hand broken by Felix Hernandez in late-July, but he was sent back down following the Casey McGehee trade a few days later. In between, the 27-year-old infielder singled once in four plate appearances and got into two other games as a pinch-runner. Pena became a minor league free agent after the season, ending his seven-year stint with the organization.

Darnell McDonald, Ryota Igarashi elect free agency

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Both OF Darnell McDonald and RHP Ryota Igarashi have elected free agency after spending the majority of the season with Triple-A Empire State. McDonald, 33, was claimed off waivers from the Red Sox in July before being designated for assignment a few days later. He went 0-for-4 during his brief stint in pinstripes and posted a 62 wRC+ in 124 plate appearances for the Triple-A squad.

The Yankees claimed the 33-year-old Igarashi off waivers from the Blue Jays in May, and he allowed four runs in three innings during several short stints with the big league team. He was dominant in Triple-A though, pitching to a 2.45 ERA (2.11 FIP) in 36.2 innings while serving as the team’s closer for most of their division title-winning season. Igarashi was outrighted in August, so neither he nor McDonald were on the 40-man roster.

Yanks send Darnell McDonald to Triple-A, release Nelson Figueroa

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Via Donnie Collins, outfielder Darnell McDonald has cleared waivers and been assigned to Triple-A Empire State. The Yankees designated him for assignment on Tuesday to clear a roster spot for CC Sabathia. McDonald will join Chris Dickerson, Kosuke Fukudome, and Cole Garner as the only healthy outfielders on the Triple-A roster.

In other news, right-hander Nelson Figueroa was released from the Triple-A squad. The 38-year-old pitched to a 3.92 ERA (4.82 FIP) in eight starts and eight relief appearances for Empire State. A few of the older roster fillers figure to be on their way out in the coming weeks as late-season promotions are made. Figueroa was the first casualty.

Yanks designate Darnell McDonald for assignment, activate CC Sabathia

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As expected, the Yankees have designated outfielder Darnell McDonald for assignment to clear room on the roster for CC Sabathia. Sabathia has been activated off the 15-day DL and will start tonight.

McDonald was claimed off waivers from the Red Sox a little less than two weeks ago with the idea that he might help against Boston’s left-handed starters in the series prior to the All-Star break. That didn’t work out — he made outs in all four plate appearances in pinstripes — and his time with the club will probably be best remembered for contributing to Curtis Granderson’s dropped fly ball in last Saturday’s game. Anyway, welcome back CC.

Midseason Review: Incomplete Grades

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During the next few days we’ll take some time to review the first half of the season and look at which Yankees are meeting expectations, exceeding expectations, and falling short of expectations. What else is the All-Star break good for?

(Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

It takes a total team effort to finish the first half with the best record in baseball, and the Yankees have already used 35 different players this season. Not all of them have made a significant contributions though, mostly because they simply haven’t had a chance to play all that much. I’m talking up-and-down relievers, miscellaneous fill-ins, and those who got injured.

Andy Pettitte
Blame Casey Kotchman. He hit the one-hop ground ball that fractured Pettitte’s left ankle on June 27th and will cause the left-hander to miss no fewer than two months. Prior to the injury, Andy’s return from retirement was a smashing success. He pitched to a 3.22 ERA (3.37 FIP) in 58.2 innings with ungodly peripherals: 9.05 K/9 (25.2 K%), 2.30 BB/9 (6.4 BB%), and 58.3% grounders. The strikeout and ground ball numbers are career bests by not small margins and the walk rate is more than half-a-walk better than his career average.

Obviously there are sample size issues with that, but what’s done is done. Pettitte pitched that well in his nine starts and the Yankees will miss him immensely in the second half. It’s unclear if he’ll come back with that kind of effectiveness — the injury was to his push-off leg — or if he’ll even come back period. Andy could decide that the rehab and getting back into playing shape is just too much. I wouldn’t bet on it, but you never know. It was a fluke injury, it happens, but it still put a major damper on the best story of the season.

(REUTERS/Mike Segar)

Brett Gardner
The Yankees have gotten exactly nine games out of Gardner this year. He didn’t even start two of them, he came off the bench to play defense for exactly one inning each time. Those nine games include 34 plate appearances (.321/.424/.393 with two steals) and 14 defensive chances. That’s it, that’s all they’ve gotten out of Gardner in 2012.

An elbow injury suffered while making a sliding catch against the Twins is the culprit. It was diagnosed as a bone bruise and an elbow strain, and twice Gardner has suffered setbacks after working his way back in minor league rehab games. He’s not expected back until the end of this month at the earliest, over 100 games into the season. The Yankees have done just fine without Gardner in the lineup and in left field, but they sorely lack team speed and the defense can always use an upgrade. His absence has been notable.

D.J. Mitchell & Adam Warren
We figured we would see these two — and David Phelps as well — at some point this season, and it didn’t take all that long. Mitchell made his debut in relief in early-May and has thrown a total of 3.2 innings across two stints and three appearances with the big league club. He’s allowed one run, five hits, and one walk in that time. The Yankees are carrying him as a long reliever right now due to the Pettitte and CC Sabathia injuries, so he has a chance to stick around by simply pitching well and soaking up innings.

Warren’s introduction to the big leagues wasn’t nearly as kind. The White Sox tattooed him for six runs on eight hits and two walks in just 2.1 innings late last month, his only appearance for the team. The Yankees called him up as an emergency replacement for Sabathia and sent him back to Triple-A the next day. You only get one debut and it wasn’t a good one for Warren, but he’ll surely get another chance to help the team at some point.

Chad Qualls, Darnell McDonald & Ryota Igarashi
All three midseason additions, all three having minimum impact thus far. Qualls was acquired from the Phillies in a minor trade less than two weeks ago and has allowed one run in his three appearances so far. He’ll stick around as a sixth or seventh inning matchup guy for the time being. McDonald was claimed off waivers from the Red Sox last week and went hitless in four plate appearances against his former team last weekend. He’ll most likely be remembered for causing Curtis Granderson to drop a routine pop-up on Saturday night. Igarashi has made all of one appearance for the Yankees since being claimed off waivers from the Blue Jays earlier this year, allowing one run in one inning against the Mets. He’ll ride the Triple-A shuttle a few more times in the second half.

Manipulating the roster around the All-Star break

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The Yankees enjoy a much needed — for the bullpen, anyway — day off today before heading to Boston for a four-game set this weekend. They’ll play one tomorrow, two on Saturday, one on Sunday, then will have four days off for the All-Star break. Everyone will get to recharge the (physical and mental) batteries before getting into the dog days of summer and the stretch drive. The break gives everyone a rest and just as importantly, it gives the Yankees a chance to manipulate and optimize their roster in the short-term.

Embedded Red Sox? Hope not. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Darnell McDonald
It seemed like a curious move at the time but the picture became clear once we had a second to sit back and think about it. The Yankees claimed outfielder Darnell McDonald off waivers from the Red Sox yesterday, adding a right-handed bat known for hitting lefties (career .345 wOBA vs. LHP) and capable of playing all three outfield spots. He’ll be in uniform at Fenway Park tomorrow.

The move wasn’t made to replace Dewayne Wise or Andruw Jones, the move was made to add McDonald to them. Although the team has not confirmed their plans, they’re almost certainly going to option David Phelps to the minors and roll with a five-man bench over the weekend. Phelps started yesterday and wasn’t scheduled to pitch this weekend, so the Yankees won’t miss him. With Boston scheduled to thrown three southpaws — Franklin Morales, Felix Doubront, and Jon Lester — in the four games this weekend, expect to see McDonald in left and Jones at DH with both Wise and Raul Ibanez available off the bench.

CC Sabathia
Once Phelps goes down he is ineligible to return for ten days, but that won’t be an issue since Sabathia is expected to come off the DL right after the break. The big left-hander played catch yesterday and will throw his first bullpen session since hitting the DL tomorrow, and so far all indications are that he’s a go once his 15 days up. Phelps will be able to continue to work as a starter in Triple-A, accumulating innings and threatening to take Freddy Garcia’s roster spot.

The Yankees can push Sabathia back to the fifth game after the All-Star break, which is Tuesday the 17th. They play three games against the Angels and will likely see C.J. Wilson at some point, so McDonald should be useful for at least one game that series. They’ll then play the Blue Jays, who have three lefties — Ricky Romero, Brett Cecil, and Aaron Laffey — in their rotation. Odds are in favor of them seeing one of those guys in the series opener, which McDonald could start before being released to clear a roster spot for Sabathia in the second game, getting the Yankees back to a 12-man pitching staff and four-man bench.

(Ed Zurga/Getty Images)

The 26th Man
Thanks to the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, the Yankees (and Red Sox) will be allowed to carry a 26th man for both games on Saturday. It has to be the same player for both games and he must be sent back to the minors the next day. George King says the Yankees will bring back Cory Wade for the day, giving them seven available relievers on Saturday. Wade threw a perfect inning on nine pitches in his first Triple-A outing yesterday as he tries to get his location back to where it needs to be.

The Yankees will still have the option of swapping out a regular 25-man reliever between games if they want. Say Cody Eppley ends up throwing 30 pitches in the first game, they could then send him down before the second game for someone like Justin Thomas — who was going to be recalled prior to the Chad Qualls trade — for the nightcap. The third lefty reliever could come in hand against the Sox, but it also may be overkill. It is an option though, and I figure they’ll at least have an extra Triple-A arm waiting at the hotel in case they need to make a between-games move.

* * *

These four games in three days against the Red Sox are happening in isolation, at least as much as any early-July series could happen in isolation. Both teams are off today and the All-Star break follows next week, so both clubs will be rested with the opportunity to manipulate their roster. It’s almost like a little playoff series, but between a first place team and a last place team. The Yankees added a right-handed bat to combat Boston’s three lefties and won’t have to worry about the pitching staff being short-handed this weekend, which is pretty sweet. There would also be something deliciously ironic about McDonald getting a big hit or two this weekend after Boston him cast him aside.