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Shane Robinson

Padres Name Shane Robinson Double-A Bench Coach

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The Padres announced their 2022 minor league coaching staffs yesterday, including the hiring of Shane Robinson as the bench coach for the Double-A San Antonio Missions.  The news would seemingly indicate that the 37-year-old Robinson is retiring from playing after 15 seasons.

Best known for his time with the Cardinals, Robinson was a fifth-round pick for St. Louis in the 2006 draft, and he appeared in 268 big league games with the club from 2009-14.  Robinson then moved on to play with the Twins, Angels, and Yankees over the next four seasons, while also inking minor league deals with Cleveland, Philadelphia, and Atlanta but not seeing any action on their active rosters.  His career also took him to the Australian Baseball League and Mexican League within the last three years, and he wrapped up his playing days with a brief five-game stint with the Acereros de Monclova in 2021.

Overall, Robinson hit .221/.288/.292 over 849 plate appearances in the majors, playing in 461 games over parts of nine MLB seasons.  Strong glovework was a big reason for that lengthy career, as Robinson was a very solid outfielder capable of playing at all three positions on the grass.  Robinson posted +26 Defensive Runs Saved and +12.4 UZR/150 over his 1792 2/3 career innings in the outfield, with above-average career scores as a center fielder and both corner outfield spots.

MLB Trade Rumors congratulates Robinson on his career achievements, and we wish him the best in his move to a coaching career.

Braves Sign Peter O’Brien, Shane Robinson

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The Braves announced Wednesday that they’ve signed first baseman/outfielder Peter O’Brien and outfielder Shane Robinson to minor league contracts with invitations to Major League camp this spring. Atlanta also confirmed previously reported minor league deals with outfielder Rafael Ortega; infielders Charlie Culberson, Pete Kozma and Yangervis Solarte; and pitchers Felix Hernandez and Chris Rusin. All will be in Major League camp as well.

Now 29 years old, O’Brien was once a well-regarded prospect with the Yankees and Diamondbacks, both of whom hoped that his significant power would outweigh the defensive question marks that plagued him behind the plate. Unfortunately, that never proved to be the case, and O’Brien shifted from catcher into an outfield/first base role. He’s appeared in 36 games for the Marlins over the past two seasons, hitting at a .231/.306/.426 clip with five homers but 41 strikeouts in 121 plate appearances. Defense and making contact have long been issues for the slugger, who carries a .250/.314/.495 slash in parts of five Triple-A seasons.

The 35-year-old Robinson has seen action in nine big league seasons — the most recent of which was the 2018 campaign with the Yankees. A career .221/.288/.292 hitter through 849 trips to the plate in the Majors, Robinson clearly isn’t much of an offensive threat. But he’s logged at least 111 games at all three outfield positions and has well above-average marks at each, per both Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating. In just under 1800 total innings in the field, DRS pegs him at +24, while UZR has him at +16.9.

Phillies To Sign Shane Robinson

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The Phillies have agreed to a minor-league deal with veteran outfielder Shane Robinson, according to the latest minor transactions from Matt Eddy of Baseball America. Terms of the arrangement are not known.

Robinson, 34, has appeared in nine MLB campaigns, though he has never yet reached 200 plate appearances in a single season. In total, he carries a modest .221/.288/.292 slash over 849 plate appearances.

Clearly, that’s not going to get the job done, but Robinson has nevertheless found opportunity owing to his well-regarded work in the field and on the bases. It’s fair to note, too, that he has at least shown himself to a be a competent batsman at the Triple-A level, where he owns a .279/.336/.382 line in parts of nine seasons of work.

Outright Assignments: Yankees, Cubs, Blue Jays

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Several players, previously designated for assignment, were outrighted yesterday after clearing waivers. Among them:

  • The Yankees have outrighted outfielder Shane Robinson and left-hander Ryan Bollinger to Triple-A Scranton, per a team announcement. New York recently designated both players for assignment after acquiring Andrew McCutchen and Adeiny Hechavarria, respectively. Robinson and Bollinger have each been outrighted in the past, so they’ll be able to elect free agency if they’re so inclined. The 33-year-old Robinson already has significant major league experience on his resume (849 plate appearances), including 54 PAs this season, but has only managed a .580 OPS at the game’s highest level. Bollinger, 27, has not yet reached the majors, but he has performed well in the Yankees’ system this year. Over 111 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A, Bollinger has logged a 3.87 ERA with 7.8 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9.
  • Cubs hurlers Rob Zastryzny and Cory Mazzoni both cleared waivers and were outrighted after losing their 40-man spots recently. The former, a 26-year-old lefty, has seen scattered action with the MLB club over the past three seasons. Zastryzny has moved to a relief role this year at Triple-A, throwing 56 innings of 3.86 ERA ball over 33 appearances (including one start). As for Mazzoni, 28, he allowed just one earned run in his 8 2/3 frames this year in the majors, but also recorded only seven strikeouts with five walks. In his 38 1/3 innings at Iowa in 2018, the former second-rounder pitched to a 4.46 ERA while compiling 34 strikeouts and 11 walks.
  • Righty Murphy Smith was outrighted by the Blue Jays, per a club announcement. It made for a nice story when the 31-year-old debuted in the majors after a lengthy minor-league career, but he was always at risk of being bumped from the 40-man as soon as a roster need arose. Smith allowed three earned runs in his 3 1/3 innings of MLB action this year, but worked to a 3.59 ERA with 6.0 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 over 62 2/3 Triple-A innings.

Yankees Designate Shane Robinson

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The Yankees have designated outfielder Shane Robinson for assignment, per a report from YES Network’s Jack Curry. Presumably, the move was made to clear room on the roster for the recently-acquired Adeiny Hechavarria.

Somewhat of an unspectacular journeyman, Robinson has played a part-time outfielder role for the Cardinals, Twins, Angels and Yankees throughout the course of his ten-year MLB career. Overall, he’s been worth about half a win above replacement across 849 plate appearances at the game’s highest level; that performance includes a .221/.288/.292 batting line with seven home runs and 19 stolen bases.

The 33-year-old has managed a pathetic wRC+ of just 16 across the 2018 season, but his decent performance on the basepaths and good fielding measures have kept his fWAR rating at about replacement level. He’s also been tough to strike out, whiffing at just an 11.1% clip on the year. Robinson was drafted by the Cardinals back in 2006 and is currently playing on an MLB minimum contract.

Jace Peterson Elects Free Agency

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Yankees infielder Jace Peterson has elected free agency after clearing waivers, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation reports via Twitter. The 27-year-old Peterson was designated for assignment on Tuesday to make room for Shane Robinson, who has since been outrighted off the club’s roster.

It’s certainly been a steady fall from prospect status for Peterson, who not long ago was considered a potential second baseman of the future for a Braves club that acquired him as one of the key pieces in the second Justin Upton trade. Though he seemed to have some upside as a utility player as recently as last season, he’s only got a .234/.320/.331 career batting line. That’s likely a large part of the reason that the Braves decided to non-tender him this past winter rather than pay him a relatively meager projected salary of $1.1MM.

Peterson wasn’t given much of a chance with the Yankees, even though he collected a walk and three hits during his brief ten plate appearance tenure in the Bronx. He came up to fill in around the infield when Brandon Drury was placed on the DL, but the presence of Ronald Torreyes made him expendable. Peterson will now seek to latch on with a new club in need of a utility infielder.

Minor MLB Transactions: 4/15/18

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The latest minor moves from around baseball…

  • The Yankees have outrighted outfielder Shane Robinson to Triple-A Scranton, per a team announcement. Given that he has been outrighted in the past, Robinson could have refused the assignment and become a free agent. Instead, it appears he’ll remain with the Yankees, who signed him to a minor league deal in February and then designated him for assignment earlier this week. Robinson appeared in two Yankees games prior to his designation, collecting a hit and a pair of walks in five plate appearances. The 33-year-old’s a lifetime .227/.296/.297 hitter in 800 major league PAs.

Yankees Activate Aaron Hicks, Designate Shane Robinson

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The Yankees announced that they’ve activated outfielder Aaron Hicks from the disabled list and designated fellow outfielder Shane Robinson for assignment in a corresponding move. Hicks will return to the lineup tonight as the designated hitter for the Yanks.

The switch-hitting Hicks will be a welcome addition to the Yankees’ lineup. Hicks went 2-for-4 on Opening Day for the Yankees this season before surprisingly landing on the DL due to a strained intercostal muscle the following day. Last year, the 28-year-old former first-rounder slashed .266/.372/.475 with 15 homers and 10 steals in 361 plate appearances over the life of 88 games, but oblique strains on both his right and left sides hampered his ability to stay on the field. Nonetheless, Hicks demonstrated enough for the Yankees to consider him their primary center fielder heading into 2018, and he’ll likely reclaim that role moving forward.

As for the 33-year-old Robinson, he always looked to be a short-term add for the Yankees, though it likely still stings to be cut loose after reaching three times and swiping a base in his lone game with the Yankees. The speedy veteran’s contract was only selected Tuesday, and he went 1-for-3 with a couple of walks in last night’s emotionally charged game against the Red Sox.

Robinson has been up and down between the Majors and Triple-A for much of his pro career, appearing at the big league level in each of the past seven seasons but never reaching 200 plate appearances in a year. Overall, he’s a lifetime .227/.296/.297 hitter in the Majors and a .281/.341/.388 hitter in more than 1600 Triple-A plate appearances.

Yankees Designate Jace Peterson, Select Shane Robinson

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The Yankees have designated utilityman Jace Peterson for assignment, per a club announcement. His roster spot will go to outfielder Shane Robinson, whose contract was selected, as Joel Sherman of the New York Post first reported on Twitter.

Peterson, 27, helped fill out the Yankees roster as injuries interfered with the club’s plans. But the former Braves infielder never seemed likely to hang on all season long. The Yankees seem pleased to utilize Ronald Torreyes as a reserve in the infield and obviously have other ideas for the outfield mix.

By adding Robinson, the Yanks will add another center field-capable player to the roster while awaiting the returns of Aaron Hicks and Jacoby Ellsbury. While Robinson has never hit much and surely won’t start now that he’s 33 years of age, he has plenty of experience coming off the bench and lining up at any of the three outfield positions.

Minor MLB Transactions: 2/8/18

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We’ll keep tabs on the latest minor moves in this post …

  • Outfielder Collin Cowgill has signed on with the Phillies on a minor league pact, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today. The 31-year-old Cowgill would earn an $800K base salary if he cracked the big league roster, per Nightengale, though he’ll have an uphill battle ahead of him in that regard. Philadelphia will have Rhys Hoskins, Odubel Herrera, Aaron Altherr, Nick Williams and Roman Quinn in the outfield mix as it is. Cowgill didn’t play in the Majors in 2017 and only logged nine games in 2016. He’s a career .234/.297/.329 hitter in parts of six Major League seasons and a career .283/.356/.431 hitter in seven Triple-A seasons.

Earlier Moves

  • The Yankees have agreed to a minor-league deal with outfielder Shane Robinson, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). He could earn at a $950K rate in the majors and will receive an invitation to MLB camp this spring. The 33-year-old Robinson has long been a reserve/depth piece, seeing action in eight MLB campaigns but compiling only 795 total plate appearances at the game’s highest level. He spent most of 2017 with the Angels’ top affiliate, slashing a sturdy .319/.370/.425 in his 385 trips to the plate.
  • Righty Stephen Fife is heading back stateside after signing on with the Indians, per SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (Twitter link). The 31-year-old, a third-round pick in 2008, hasn’t seen the majors since 2014 but does own a 3.66 ERA in 91 career frames. Fife made five starts last year for Japan’s Seibu Lions, but struggled to a 6.86 ERA with 11 strikeouts and 13 walks in just 21 frames. He’ll be looking to get back on track with the Cleveland organization, though he’ll certainly face very long odds to crack the roster out of camp.
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