Antonelli Claimed By Yankees

[Mr Snuffleupagus]

The thought of having to face Antonelli as a Yankee does not scare me.

[Lester Freamon]

In a way it's a good problem to have. There aren't any slam dunk decisions as to who to remove from the 40-man anymore. I don't know why Roberts hasn't been placed on the 60-day. I'm just going to trust that DD and Buck have a good reason for this.

Now, I might prefer Antonelli to Ryan Adams though.

[Va Beach O's fan]

As a Tides season ticket holder, this really pisses me off.

We already have next to nothing in terms of offensive talent down here in Norfolk. Now we are giving up one of the better guys on the team (and I agree with others, he's not that good, but it really just speaks to the lack of quality in the farm system right now, at least at the AAA level) all because we aren't willing to put a guy on the 60 day DL that should have been there all along.

A dumb dumb move by the front office. Sacrificed a decent player and some half way decent minor league depth for NOTHING.

[russ snyder]

In a way it's a good problem to have. There aren't any slam dunk decisions as to who to remove from the 40-man anymore. I don't know why Roberts hasn't been placed on the 60-day. I'm just going to trust that DD and Buck have a good reason for this.

Now, I might prefer Antonelli to Ryan Adams though.

I agree that having so much depth is a good problem to have. Also, the Orioles were bound to lose someone with as much roster shuffling that they have had to do over the past two to three weeks. I'm not going to lose any sleep over Antonelli being claimed by the Yankees.

[clapdiddy]

In a way it's a good problem to have. There aren't any slam dunk decisions as to who to remove from the 40-man anymore. I don't know why Roberts hasn't been placed on the 60-day. I'm just going to trust that DD and Buck have a good reason for this.

Now, I might prefer Antonelli to Ryan Adams though.

At least Antonelli has a position to play. Adams is not a good fielder.

[Roll Tide]

This is much to do about nothing. The guy couldve made the club...But didnt! despite this teams defensive woes he couldnt get called up even when player were falling due to injury. I will defer to DD at this point as he deserves the benefit of a doubt. He's made more good moves than bad so far.

[Slappy]

It's not a big deal, but like others said it didn't need to happen. Antonelli would have been a useful asset if and when someone like Andino or Hardy gets hurt. And you guys know that a month and a half at AAA isn't a yardstick of the guy's value. He has good MiL career stats and even this year had an OBP over .350 despite a horrid batting average. That has value for a major league club that gets on base at a torrid .310.

He fits perfectly with the Yankees. One reason that club wins every year because they stick to their profile of players.

[osfan83]

It's not about the player, it is about the decision making process.

Why make moves that you don't have to make? Britton and/or Roberts* should be on the 60-day.

DD is perfectly willing to get rid of MiL players that's for sure. Sometimes strangely so (e.g. Snyder for cash so they can make room for Jai Miller)

*perhaps Britton will be back before 60 days and perhaps Roberts can't be on the 60-day and travel with the team (though I haven't seen that confirmed) and traveling with the team might be a necessary part of his process of getting well.

I get that travel and being in large crowds is part of Brians rehab...but there are other ways to get that done, and you have to take into account his age. If B-Rob was a 25 year old future star going through this, it might be worth a roster spot to make sure he gets back and anchors the leadoff spot and second base for the next tem years. But face it, even if his rehab goes perfectly he might give you a couple of years of average major league play.

I think they should have put him on the 60 day, and had him travel with the team (lots of team employees not on the roster travel with the team) and watch the game from a private box.

[wildcard]

I believe wildcard had him down for a .350 OBP on the 25-man roster this season. So much for that. I liked his blog, so I'm sorry to lose him, but he wasn't too impressive in AAA so I'm not losing any sleep over this.

Yes, he did not play up to what his history said he might. I have been disappointed in his offensive production over the first quarter of the season. I have mixed feeling about him being DFA'd but there is clearly something going on with Roberts DL status that no one has explained.

Oh, he did have a .357 OBP when he was claimed. He just didn't do much else offensively to justify a call-up.

[Roll Tide]

It's not a big deal, but like others said it didn't need to happen. Antonelli would have been a useful asset if and when someone like Andino or Hardy gets hurt. And you guys know that a month and a half at AAA isn't a yardstick of the guy's value. He has good MiL career stats and even this year had an OBP over .350 despite a horrid batting average. That has value for a major league club that gets on base at a torrid .310.

He fits perfectly with the Yankees. One reason that club wins every year because they stick to their profile of players.

What I like is that DD is purging the organization of the dead weight. Antonelli was never a high risk move so as needed you cut him loose and move on.

[OFFNY]

This strikes me as dumb, especially since he landed up with the Yankees. He plain and simple gets on base; even this year he had an OBP of.350. Last year in Triple A he hit .297 with a .460 slugging percentage and he only just turned 27. [/i][/b]

Pulling the string on him this early seems ridiculous; in some ways I like him better than Flaherty and Tolleson... And now the Yankees have him. Ugh.

Antonelli has been in AAA since 2008. In his brief (and only) major league experience that season, he batted .193 with an OBP of .292. Since then, neither the Padres nor the Nationals have called him up to the majors. The Yankees also have former Oriole Clay Rapada in their bullpen. Just because the Yankees claim a player doesn't necessarily make it a blunder for his previous team not to have kept him.

[Frobby]

From Antonelli's blog:

Things really got interesting once we arrived in Indianapolis. It felt as if half of our team was either called up or Designated for Assignment during our first two days in Indiana. About thirty minutes before our game on Sunday I was called into our manager's office and told he had just received a call informing him that I had been DFA'd. Here is what I read on the computer about five minutes after he gave me the news.

Orioles Designate Matt Antonelli For Assignment

By Zach Links [May 13, 2012 at 12:42pm CST]

The Orioles have designated infielder Matt Antonelli for assignment, according to Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). The move made room on the 40-man roster for the O's to promote Xavier Avery from Triple-A Norfolk. Antonelli, 27, hooked on with the O's in November and was hitting .204/.351/.280 in Norfolk. Antonelli was taken with the 17th overall in the 2006 draft by the Padres and was thought to be in line for significant playing time at third base for Baltimore this year.

I've been asked by about 6,000 people in the last few days what it means to be DFA'd. I honestly still do not understand all the rules, but basically it means I was taken off the 40 man roster by the Orioles and would have to pass through waivers. If no teams claimed me during the three day waiver process I would return to Norfolk. If a team claimed me I would be placed on that teams 40 man roster. Well, I received a call today from the Orioles informing me that I was claimed by the New York Yankees.

Yankees Claim Matt Antonelli

By Ben Nicholson-Smith [May 17 at 2:56pm CST]

The Yankees have claimed infielder Matt Antonelli off of waivers from the Orioles, Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger tweets. Antonelli, who was designated for assignment four days ago, will report to Triple-A. Antonelli, 27, signed a Major League deal with the Orioles this offseason. He posted a .204/.351/.280 battling line for Baltimore's top affiliate before the O's removed him from the 40-man roster over the weekend. The Padres selected Antonelli 17th overall in the 2006 draft.

Right now I am packing up my apartment, jumping in my car, and heading up to New York to join my new team in Rochester, NY. It is crazy how quickly everything has happened in the last few days and I still can't believe I am on a new team. This is the first time in my baseball career when I have switched organizations in the middle of the season, and I think because it happened so early in the season it still has not sunk in. Having to go to our stadium a few hours ago and say goodbye to all of my teammates wasn't a very fun experience, but I am excited to join my new team and see what is in store for me in the future.

I probably should keep packing and get out of Norfolk before it gets too late. I appreciate all of the support and good luck wishes from both Orioles and Tides fans. Good luck to your teams and maybe we will see each other in the future.

That really gives you a feel of what it's like to get this kind of news as a ballplayer. Good luck to Matt, he was enjoyable to follow and I wish him the best.

[Tony-OH]

Yawn.

Interesting to note... But.... I don't care. Everyone is hating in BRob. But according to that sun article, he's probably getting ready for some game action after this road trip. How about some positive thoughts.... He could be a huge addition to the squad!

He also could potentially be a boat anchor for the lineup. He was showing signs of decline before the injury and now he hasn't played in over a year. I hope Roberts can come back and play well, but I have little reason to believe we would be getting spark plug Roberts back.

As for Antonalli, I guess I don't get keeping Jai Miller and his 60 K's in 138 PA over him. He started out slow and he hasn't shown much in AAA, but with our whole at third base, I'm not sure why we would decide he's not worth keeping around. I don't think this is a huge loss, but the the fact the Yankees claimed him suggests others see value in him.

[Tony-OH]

From Antonelli's blog:

That really gives you a feel of what it's like to get this kind of news as a ballplayer. Good luck to Matt, he was enjoyable to follow and I wish him the best.

I like how Antonelli puts a human face to his professional experiences. He'll appreciate it as well once he's retired and he can relive his experiences through his own words.

[CA-ORIOLE]

As for Antonalli, I guess I don't get keeping Jai Miller and his 60 K's in 138 PA over him. .

Pretty sure Miller was DFA'd a while back.