Remlinger Traded To Red Sox
Left-handed reverse-split reliever Mike Remlinger, who was designated for assignment last Friday to make room on the roster for the players returning from the disabled list, has been traded to the Boston Red Sox for "a minor league pitcher" whose identity has yet to be confirmed. Expect a far lesser name than the likes of Anibal Sanchez, Jon Papelbon, Jon Lester and Abe Alvarez, and the Cubs to be chipping in some money too. We'll have an update and a profile of the prospect as soon as we get a name. [Update: Olivio Astacio is the name, and the extent of the profile I can give you on him is that he's Dominican and 21 years old. When signed as an international free agent by the Red Sox a few years ago, he was considered a good prospect with a live arm. His numbers though have been relatively unimpressive, he's apparently been suspended and sent back to the DR this year, and he's still a long way away from the majors regardless.]
The Red Sox are making a habit of acquiring elderly lefty relievers from us. Last year, the Cubs traded journeyman Jimmy Anderson to the Red Sox for a minor league reliever named Andrew Shipman and a player to be named later that ended up being Anderson himself. Anderson made just five appearances out of the Boston bullpen, pitching six ineffective innings, before the Red Sox dispatched him from whence he came. He spent the rest of the year in our minor league system, and right now you can find him pitching for the Devil Rays' Triple-A affiliate in Durham, North Carolina. Let's hope, for the Red Sox's sake, that a better fate awaits Remlinger.
Andrew Shipman though, aged 23 but blessed with unremarkable stuff, is having quite a season at Double-A, posting a 54.0 IP, 47 H, 0 HR, 26 BB, 56 K, 3.00 ERA line. Indeed, not a single home run allowed in over fifty innings. It may be a pitcher's league and a pitcher's park, and he may not ever project as a major leaguer, but he's certainly giving those in West Tennessee some enjoyable innings. If only the fans in Chicago could say the same more often.
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