Here are today’s minor moves from around the game.
- The Twins have released outfielder Darin Mastroianni, Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press tweets. Mastroianni briefly played in the big leagues for the Twins earlier this season, but they outrighted him last month. The 30-year-old has batted just .256/.327/.300 in 203 plate appearances at Triple-A Rochester this season. As Berardino notes, the Twins recently optioned Byron Buxton to Rochester, and he figures to play center field there, leaving Mastroianni without much of a role. In parts of five big-league seasons with the Blue Jays and Twins, Mastroianni has batted .206/.271/.280 in 317 plate appearances.
Met Mastroianni when he played in the Blue Jays system at a baseball clinic. Nice guy. I hoped he had a chance to crack the big leagues, but he’s pretty much one of the AAAA guys at this point.
I like those kinds of guys. You know they’re not sticking around the game for the money and glory. Even bouncing around the fringes of the big leagues for a while makes guys like him significantly more interesting than any of us are ever gonna be.