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River Ave. Blues ยป Matt Antonelli

Update: Yankees release Matt Antonelli

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July 5th: Antonelli has been released, the team announced. With David Adams and Corban Joseph entrenched at second base at the Double-A and Triple-A levels, respectively, there was just no spot for him.

July 1st: The Yankees have designated Matt Antonelli for assignment to clear room on the 40-man roster for the recently acquired Chad Qualls. The 27-year-old infielder had been claimed off waivers from the Orioles back in May and hit .200/.286/.320 in a dozen games for Triple-A Empire State. Antonelli has been on the DL for more than a month, so you won’t even notice he’s gone.

Yankees claim Matt Antonelli off waivers from Orioles

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Via Eddie Encina, the Yankees have claimed infielder Matt Antonelli off waivers from the Orioles. Mark Feinsand confirms that he’ll head to Triple-A, and that Cesar Cabral was transferred to the 60-day DL to clear a 40-man roster spot.

Antonelli, 27, was once a top prospect with the Padres and even cracked Baseball America’s top 100 prospect list back in 2008. He owns a .261 wOBA in 65 career big league plate appearances, all coming with San Diego a few years ago. Antonelli is a .234/.347/.361 career hitter in over 1,200 Triple-A plate appearances and posted a .308 wOBA at the level this year. He’s primarily a second baseman so I highly doubt he replaces Jayson Nix or anything. This seems like a move intended to replace depth in the minors for whenever Nix is cut loose, frankly.