Baseball in Fort Wayne

When Luis Rivas came through Fort Wayne with the Wizards in 1997, he was a hot Twins prospect. In fact, the Venezuelan was considered their number one prospect. He was with the parent club by 2000 and went on to play more than 500 games with the Twinkies before signing with the Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays in 2006.

However, between his debut on September 16, 2000 and his signing with the Rays in 2006, a lot changed. Rivas won Minnesota’s starting second baseman job in 2001 and appeared planted there for 2002 until a broken wrist two days into the season DL’ed him for two months. His numbers since that time suggest a promise that went much unfulfilled.

In 2005, he was granted free agency from the Twins. He signed with Tampa Bay for the 2006 season, but saw no big league action and was granted free agency that October. He signed with Cleveland for the 2007 season and appeared in four games; collecting three hits that included a triple and a home run in addition to four runs batted in.

Today, Rivas is a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates organization and is seeking a spot with the club. And some folks are starting to take notice.

“Luis is a fierce competitor. He works hard and goes about his business,” manager John Russell (who managed Rivas in the Twins organization in 1999 and 2000) said. “He’s in great shape. He’s moving very well. He plays the game the right way. I’m very pleased with how he came in to camp, and I’m very pleased with what he’s done so far.” [source: mlb.com]

With the Wizards in 1997, Rivas appeared in 121 games and hit .239 with 100 hits and 30 runs batted in over 419 at-bats. More about Luis Rivas can be found on page 58 of Baseball in Fort Wayne. Photograph courtesy of the Fort Wayne Wizards.

[tags]Luis Rivas, Pittsburgh Pirates, Minnesota Twins, Tampa Bay Rays, Fort Wayne Wizards, Spring Training[/tags]