Player #61 joins the Diamondbacks
Roster moves
The Arizona Diamondbacks made the following roster moves:
- Select OF Henry Ramos (No. 14) from Triple-A Reno.
- Optioned OF Stuart Fairchild to Reno following last night’s game
Bit of an odd move this, with Fairchild having gotten the call-up from the Aces just a couple of days ago. He had received precisely five plate-appearances, going 1-for-4 with a HBP. It does initially feel particularly a bit of a surprise to see Ramos, considering that this was the player in action, just two days ago.
(Hat-tip to Mr. Burt for the video) From what I can piece together, the pitcher got upset at the bat-flip by the hitter after his home-run – though it was an undeniably impressive bomb, it must be admitted, and the jawing continued from a Rainiers’ infielder, as Ramos rounded second. Though Ramos had also been hit by the first pitch in a previous at-bat, so I think some pleasure in his home-run is not unwarranted.
Ramos is a long-time minor leaguer, who had been enjoying his twelfth season on the farm without ever having seen the majors. That’s a total of 916 games and 3,617 PA there for the 29-year-old switch-hitting outfielder. Most of that time was with the Red Sox, but he also spent time in the Giants and Dodgers organizations, before signing with the D-backs as a free agent on May 19. Over 75 games with the Aces this year, he is hitting .371./439/.582 for a 1.021 OPS. Of course: that’s Reno. Drew Ellis had a .950 OPS there, but is at barely half that (.480) in his 28 games at the major-league level. Henry will be wearing #14, most recently belonging to Asdrubal Cabrera, and previously worn by Martin Prado and Ryan Roberts.
Torey Lovullo notes
Henry Ramos is a “very well deserved call-up… it has been very consistent over the course of the year.” Giving him the call-up was “a very special moment” for both of them. Lovullo said Ramos told him the change this year was the hitter being more selective at the plate. Torey crossed paths with him in the Red Sox during some spring training, and felt He was a talented player. “I always had great conversations with him… it just took him a while to figure it out.”
Asked specifically about the brawl, and whether this could be seen as “rewarding” Ramos. “Some of the response and reaction is nothing we condone,” but Lovullo has asked around and Ramos felt he had been targeted for a couple of days. He made up his mind that if he hit a home-run, he was going to enjoy it. What was not seen in the footage was the interaction with the pitcher, catcher and first-baseman and felt at some point he was going to have to defend himself.”