Borbón takes over the position from Quintin Berry, who departed to take the third base coaching job with the Cubs in October. Like Berry, the 38-year-old Borbón was best known for his speed during his playing days. He stole 47 bases over 294 games in a big league career that spanned parts of five seasons. Most of that time came with the Rangers between 2009-11. Borbón made brief appearances with the Cubs and Orioles in later years.

After retiring as a player in 2019, Borbón jumped into coaching in the Yankees’ system. He had a brief managerial run with New York’s rookie ball affiliate before moving into a player development capacity with the Twins in 2022. Borbón spent three seasons with Minnesota and now gets his first job on an MLB coaching staff.

The rest of Pat Murphy’s second staff in Milwaukee is as follows: associate manager Rickie Weeks, lead hitting coach Al LeBoeuf, hitting coaches Eric Theisen and Connor Dawson, pitching coach Chris Hook, assistant pitching/strategy coach Jim Henderson, bullpen coach Charlie Greene, third base coach Jason Lane, field coordinator Néstor Corredor, assistant coach Daniel De Mondesert, and infield coach Matt Erickson.

Adam McCalvy of MLB.com notes that the “strategy coach” element of Henderson’s title is a new development. The former closer has been on staff as an assistant pitching coach for three seasons. He’ll take on a bit more responsibility in game planning after run prevention coordinator Walker McKiven left to become Will Venable’s bench coach with the White Sox.

Borbon, 36 next month, thanked the Yankees for “[providing] me with the right culture and structure to start my coaching career.” He originally joined the Yankees organization for the 2019 season and has since served as a defensive/baserunning coach before moving up to manage the Yankees’ Florida Coast League affiliate in 2021. Borbon, who spent the bulk of his playing days with the Rangers, is likely quite familiar with Twins general manager Thad Levine, who was an assistant general manager in Texas during Borbon’s time there.

Borbon spent parts of five seasons playing in the Majors, logging time with the Rangers, Cubs and Orioles along the way. In 294 games and 878 plate appearances, he posted a .273/.318/.347 batting line with eight homers, 19 doubles, eight triples and 47 stolen bases. Best known for his speed and ability to play all three outfield positions, Borbon also compiled a .294/.345/.384 batting line in parts of nine minor league seasons before retiring as a player after a 2018 campaign spent on the independent circuit.

• Brock Holt is eligible for free agency after the 2019 season, but the Red Sox super-utilityman tells Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald that he “would love to stay here for the rest of my career — I’m happy here, my family’s happy here, I love everything about being a Boston Red Sox.”  Holt’s versatility has made him an important depth piece for the Sox, capable of filling in at multiple positions and also providing some decent production at the plate; Holt’s .362 OBP and .411 slugging percentage last season were both career bests.  There’s certainly value available for Boston in keeping Holt, and an extension would hardly break the bank (Holt is earning $3.575MM this season).  The Red Sox have been discussing extensions with some higher-profile names this spring, which could explain why the team hasn’t yet approached Holt or his representatives about a new deal.
• The Cardinals were the only team that made Matt Wieters an offer this winter, MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch tweets, which is why the veteran catcher signed on with St. Louis on a minor league deal.  Wieters is far from the only veteran who had a tough time finding work in the quiet free agent market, and the former four-time All-Star’s value took a severe hit following three consecutive subpar years with the Orioles and Nationals.  While Wieters had to settle for a non-guaranteed deal, he at least has a solid shot at winning the job as Yadier Molina’s backup.
• Buster Posey appeared in his first Spring Training game today, catching three innings and generally looking in good condition following last August’s hip surgery.  “It would have been nice to maybe ease into it a little bit but it was also nice to check off some more boxes, and we’ll see how my body responds tomorrow and Sunday.  Overall I was really happy with the way it felt,” Posey told reporters, including Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area.  Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi indicated earlier this month that the team would bring Posey along carefully in his recovery process, though the catcher seems to be making a case to appear in the Giants’ Opening Day lineup.

• The Orioles have outrighted both outfielder Julio Borbon and righty Logan Ondrusek to Double-A, per a team announcement. The 30-year-old Borbon has not seen extensive major league time since playing a big role on the 2010 Rangers, but he offers a left-handed-hitting center field option that could come in handy given the injury concerns surrounding Adam Jones. Ondrusek, 31, came over from Japan in a surprising recent move, but has struggled through 6 1/3 innings with Baltimore. Still, he’ll provide some depth down the stretch should a need arise.
• Outfielder Alex Presley has accepted a Triple-A assignment with the Tigers after clearing waivers, John Wagner of the Toledo Blade reports on Twitter. Presley was designated for assignment recently, but the opportunity remains for him to play a role at the major league level late this year, especially with Cameron Maybin now dealing with another thumb problem.
• The Tigers also announced that the club purchased the contract of infielder/outfielder JaCoby Jones. Acquired in the deal that sent Joakim Soria to the Pirates last summer, Jones has struggled for most of the year at Triple-A. Over his 324 plate appearances in his first trip to the highest level of the minors, Jones owns a .243/.309/.356 slash with 11 steals. He’ll provide some versatility in Detroit, though, as the 24-year-old has spent time at both third base and center field this year.
• The Mariners have outrighted righty Jarrett Grube off of the 40-man roster, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reported on Twitter. He had already been pitching at Triple-A, and the team did not announce a corresponding move, but the transaction will open a fresh major league spot. That may ultimately be filled by fellow righty Evan Scribner, who is expected to be activated soon from the 60-day DL, per Bob Dutton of the Seattle times (via Twitter). As for Grube — who is in something of an unusual position as a 34-year-old who has just one MLB appearance under his belt — he’ll return to pitching at the highest level of the minors, where he owns a 4.13 ERA over 113 1/3 innings on the year.

MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko wrote this morning that McFarland would likely be placed on optional waivers, but Borbon’s DFA is a traditional one. The team is hoping he’ll clear waivers and accept an outright assignment.

AUG. 28: The Orioles have designated left-hander T.J. McFarland and outfielder Julio Borbon for assignment, per a club announcement. They’ve also confirmed the signing of right-handed reliever Tommy Hunter and recalled fellow righty Oliver Drake from Triple-A Norfolk.

McFarland still has minor league options remaining, as Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets, but that didn’t stop the Orioles from designating him. The 27-year-old has endured a season to forget, having logged a 6.93 ERA, 2.55 K/9 and 3.65 BB/9 in 24 2/3 innings despite a 60.2 percent ground-ball rate. From 2013-15, McFarland amassed 105 appearances and compiled a 3.89 ERA, 6.12 K/9, 3.06 BB/9 and 60.8 percent grounder rate across 173 2/3 frames.

Borbon, 30, has spent most of the year with Double-A Bowie and has racked up just 15 major league plate appearances as a result. Those were the first trips to the plate in the majors since 2013 for Borbon, who has mostly been at the Triple-A level over the past couple years. Borbon has hit .273/.318/.347 with eight home runs and 47 steals in 878 major league PAs.

• The Reds have selected the contract of catcher Rafael Lopez from Triple-A Louisville, C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets. To clear space on their active roster, they’ve optioned infielder Tony Renda to Louisville. The Reds needed an extra catcher due to a minor hand injury to Tucker Barnhart. The 28-year-old Lopez appeared briefly in the big leagues with the Cubs in 2016, but has not done so since. He’s hit a modest .213/.262/.297 for Louisville this season.
• The Mariners today announced a bevy of roster moves — they selected the contract of righty Dan Altavilla from Double-A Jackson, recalled first baseman Dae-Ho Lee and switch-pitcher Pat Venditte from Triple-A Tacoma, and placed righty Tom Wilhelmsen on the 15-day disabled list with lower back spasms. (They also optioned outfielder Nori Aoki and infielder Michael Freeman to Tacoma, as had previously been reported.) The 23-year-old Altavilla, a fifth-round pick in 2014, has never pitched above the Double-A level, but he’s had success there this season, posting a 1.91 ERA, 8.8 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in 56 2/3 innings.
• The Twins have selected the contract of righty Alex Wimmers, as Ted Schwerzler of Off The Baggy was first to tweet. Wimmers made his big-league debut with a scoreless inning yesterday. The 27-year-old was the 21st overall pick in the 2010 draft, but his path to the big leagues was slowed by injury. He’s had a solid season in the bullpen at Triple-A Rochester, with a 3.62 ERA, 9.1 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 in 49 2/3 innings.
• The Orioles announced that they’ve selected the contract of outfielder Julio Borbon and optioned righty Mike Wright to Triple-A Norfolk. The 30-year-old Borbon briefly played for the Orioles this season but has spent most of the year with Double-A Bowie, where he’s batted .275/.336/.362 with 28 stolen bases. He’s hit sparingly in parts of five seasons in the big leagues, but his speed might make him an effective tactical player if the O’s opt to stick with him until rosters expand.

Borbon, 30, appeared in five games for the Orioles and totaled 11 plate appearances, going 2-for-9 with a pair of sacrifices. The former Rangers outfielder has spent the bulk of the season with Double-A Bowie, where he’s batted .289/.353/.373 with 20 stolen bases in 29 attempts. The brief big league stop with the O’s was the first taste of the Majors for Borbon since 2013, but he does have a fair amount of experience; in 874 Major League plate appearances, Borbon is a .272/.317/.346 hitter with 47 steals in 61 attempts.

[Related: Updated Baltimore Orioles Depth Chart]

The 29-year-old Urrutia received a $779K signing bonus when inking a minor league contract with the Orioles out of Cuba back in 2012 and has appeared in parts of big league seasons, hitting .272/.287/.337 in 94 plate appearances. Urrutia was an accomplished hitter in Cuba’s Serie Nacional, with a career line of .350/.426/.517, but he’s never tapped into that power with the Orioles organization. His work at the Triple-A level has yielded a .284 average and .333 OBP, but he’s slugged a timid .383 in that time (957 plate appearances).

Kim, 28, has come a long way since reportedly refusing a minors assignment in Spring Training. The O’s have brought him along slowly and the results have been excellent, as the man nicknamed the “Hitting Machine” in Korea has lived up to that billing with a .329/.410/.454 batting line in 173 trips to the plate. With that type of production, the O’s, who are clinging to a 1.5 game lead in the AL East, will hope that his absence is brief in nature.

The 30-year-old Borbon once looked like a potential catalyst atop the Rangers lineup but hasn’t appeared in the Majors since 2013. He’s a career .272/.318/.347 hitter in the bigs and has delivered a .289/.353/.373 slash with 20 stolen bases in 83 games for Baltimore’s Double-A affiliate this season.

• The Orioles have re-signed outfielder Julio Borbon to a minor league contract, reports Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Borbon has taken 863 MLB plate appearances, compiling a composite .272/.318/.347 slash with 47 stolen bases. But the 30-year-old last saw the Majors in 2013 and has spent the past two seasons in the Baltimore organization at Triple-A. His numbers dipped in his second go-around with Norfolk; last year, Borbon batted just .269/.299/.321, though he contributed on the basepaths, as usual, by swiping 23 bases in 114 games despite that modest OBP.
• Baseball America’s John Manuel tweets that the Red Sox have released right-hander Karsten Whitson. The 24-year-old Whitson was selected ninth overall by the Padres in 2010 as a high schooler, but he turned down a $2.1MM signing bonus to attend the University of Florida. Unfortunately, Whitson began to battle shoulder injuries after an excellent freshman season and ultimately wound up signing for $100K as an 11th-round pick by the Red Sox in 2014. Whitson pitched just seven innings for the Sox’ short-season Class-A affiliate in 2014 — his lone professional experience to date.

• The Dodgers signed right-hander B.J. Rosenberg to a minor league contract.  The 29-year-old owns a 5.72 ERA, 8.3 K/9 and 1.73 K/BB rate over 56 2/3 career innings, all with the Phillies from 2012-14.
• The Dodgers also signed Ramon Troncoso, bringing the right-hander back for a second stint with the club. Troncoso posted a 3.92 ERA, 2.07 K/BB rate and 6.4 K/9 over 197 1/3 relief innings for L.A. from 2008-11, highlighted by a 2009 season that saw him notch a 2.72 ERA over 82 2/3 IP.  He last appeared in the bigs with the White Sox in 2013 and Troncoso spent last season with the Royals’ Triple-A affiliate.
• The Orioles re-signed outfielder Julio Borbon to a new minor league deal.  After being picked off the Cubs roster in the minor league Rule 5 draft last winter, Borbon hit .288/.342/.356 with 34 steals in 44 chances over 512 plate appearances for Triple-A Norfolk in 2014.  Borbon, the 35th overall pick of the 2007 amateur draft, last played in the majors with the Cubs in 2013 and he owns a career .272/.318/.347 slash line over 863 PA with Chicago and Texas.
• The Reds re-signed catcher Lou Marson.  The 28-year-old first joined the Reds on a minor league deal last May but was limited to just seven Double-A games due to injuries.  Marson slashed .219/.309/.299 over 882 career PA for the Phillies and Indians between 2008-13.
• The Cubs re-signed longtime farmhand Jonathan Mota.  The infielder has spent his entire 10-year pro career in Chicago’s farm system, posting a .258/.317/.362 career slash line.

• The Angels released right-hander Mike Ekstrom from Triple-A Salt Lake, according to the Pacific Coast League's transactions page. Ekstrom, who turns 30 at the end of this month, posted a 5.19 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 26 innings for the Bees this season. He's appeared in the Majors for at least one inning each year from 2008-12, but he has just a 5.61 ERA in 61 career big league innings.
• Julio Borbon has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Iowa, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times (Twitter link). The Cubs designated the speedster for assignment last Friday after he hit just .202/.284/.279 in 117 plate appearances after being claimed off waivers from the Rangers earlier this year.
• Six players are currently in DFA limbo: Laynce Nix of the Phillies, Michael Schwimer of the Blue Jays, Brent Lillibridge of the Yankees, Adam Rosales of the Rangers, Josh Sullivan of the Rockies and Yusmeiro Petit of the Giants.

Borbon was picked up off of waivers from the Rangers back in April. After 117 plate appearances this year, his triple-slash line stands at .192/.276/.260. He has also stolen seven bases. The 27-year-old Borbon was a trade candidate back when he was designated by Texas, and ultimately was claimed by the team that then had the second-highest waiver priority. After his poor run in Chicago, however, it seems unlikely that he'll draw as much interest this time around. 

• Outfielder Julio Borbon had a "whirlwind day" after being claimed off waivers on Friday, MLB.com's Carrie Muskat writes. After learning he'd been claimed by the Cubs, Borbon got to Milwaukee's Miller Park in the eighth inning Friday night. Manager Dale Sveum, who had been ejected, told Borbon to suit up. Borbon did, and entered the game as a pinch-runner, then ended the game when he got thrown out trying to steal. Borbon expressed excitement at being claimed by the Cubs because he's a fan of President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein. "My fiance, she’s from Boston, and she knew him, and she was the first one to tell me he had done great things for the city of Boston," said Borbon. "From his background and his resume, he’s on his way to doing the same thing here."
• Jason Giambi of the Indians looks forward to becoming a coach one day, but for now he's enjoying the end of his big-league career, Gene Duffey of MLB.com writes. Giambi interviewed for the Rockies' manager position last year (the job went to Walt Weiss) and has declined coaching jobs with other teams while he continues to play. "I want to enjoy this while I can," says Giambi. "Unfortunately, this game will let you know when it's time to walk away. Sometimes it's not your choice. I've been lucky enough and blessed enough to be in my 19th Major League season. And I'm going to enjoy every minute."

Borbon was designated for assignment by the Rangers last week and placed on waivers Wednesday after the Rangers were unable to work out a trade.  The 27-year-old is a career .283/.324/.358 hitter with 40 stolen bases in 53 career attempts.

The outfielder drew interest from a few clubs including the Twins, who were said to be kicking the tires on him.  Ultimately, however, the Rangers were unable to find a worthwhile deal for him.  Texas ideally wanted a "pitcher with options" in exchange for Borbon.

Because waiver priority is determined by the previous year's standings for the first month of the season, the Cubs had second priority to claim Borbon. He did not pass through the entire American League unclaimed.

• Kubatko also explains why the Orioles didn't trade for outfielder Julio Borbon, who had been designated for assignment by the Rangers. The Orioles were rumored to be interested in Borbon. Kubatko says the Orioles didn't want to deal the minor-leaguers the Rangers wanted, and didn't see Borbon as an upgrade over Chris Dickerson. Borbon ultimately ended up on waivers.
• Conor Jackson has not yet turned in his retirement paperwork, Kubatko notes (on Twitter). News of Jackson's retirement emerged last weekend, but for now, the Orioles are keeping him on the restricted list in Triple-A Norfolk. If Jackson decides to return to the game while he's still on the restricted list, he'll return as a member of the Orioles organization. Jackson hit .200/.333/.240 in nine games for Norfolk this year.