Baseball in Fort Wayne

Posts Tagged ‘Luis Rivas’

If you follow this blog, you know that I’ve been following the backup 3B spot with the Chicago Cubs this spring. At one point, we had three former Wizards vying for the spot.

Corey Koskie retired, leaving Luis Rivas and Bobby Scales. I had been pulling for Scales, so I was bummed when I read they had demoted him today. Also today, I was looking over the Cubs’ recent transactions, and saw that Rivas was sent down on March 17th.

I guess the’ll put Aaron Miles in the spot. But they did free up room on the 40-man roster, so one has to speculate a trade is in the works.

When Corey Koskie singed with the Cubs not long ago, he became the third former Wizard trying to win the backup thrid base job. His resume might have even given him a slight edge in the competition. However, yesterday, he left Thursday’s game with was was said to be an illness.

That “illness” turned out to be light-headedness and “could be related to the post-concussion symptoms he has battled most of the last two years.”  Reports are now surfacing that Koskie is set to formally retire.

Paul Sullivan, in commenting on the Cubs’ current plans, does not mention either of the other two former wizards, Bobby Scales or Luis Rivas as possible contenters for the role:

At this point, Aaron Miles will assume the role when Mike Fontenot is playing second, and vice versa. Neither has much of a history at third base. Recent pickup Esteban German has played third but is not expected to make the final cut.

Update (3:46PM EST): Koskie Makes it Official

“This is what I love to do — I love being out there, being with the guys, the whole competition,” he said. “There’s no way you can replace it. But at some point you have to look at it realistically and say, ‘Is it really worth sacrificing the rest of your life for a game?’”

Update (9:23PM EST): Koskie’s retirement not a shock

“He’s been through a lot,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said of Koskie, who played third base for the Twins from 1998-2004. “He took a shot at it. He tried to come back and it just doesn’t feel right. I think it all gets down to quality of life after you finish playing the game, which he realized.”

Related BBIFW Posts:

• Who’s On Third? Koskie is Third Former Wizard Seeking Cubs Gig
• Free Agent Koskie Thinking Return for 2008
• Cubs Invite Scales and Rivas to Spring Training
• Rivas Adjusting to Short
• Rivas Seeking Spot with Pittsburgh

The Cubs have insisted that they are still looking for another utility infielder – even after inviting former Wizards Luis Rivas and Bobby Scales to spring training. Now you can add Corey Koskie to the former Wizards mix.

The Chicago Cubs Koskie agreed to terms on a 2009 minor league deal that includes and invitation to their Spring Training camp. Obviously, the deal is pending a physical.

Koskie will report to Cubs’ camp following his participation with team Canada in the World Baseball Classic (WBC).

He has not played since July 5, 2006 following a concussion that was suffered while with the Brewers. He had been working out with the Minnesota Twins in preparation. Koskie joined the Fort Wayne Wizards in 1995 as a 26th round draft selection of the Minnesota Twins. While in Fort Wayne, he appeared in 123 games; posting a .310 batting average, 143 hits, 78 runs batted in and 16 home runs.

The 35-year-old Koskie is a career .275 hitter (936-for-3399) with 223 doubles, 124 home runs and 506 RBI in all or part of nine major league seasons with Minnesota (1998-2004), Toronto (2005) and Milwaukee (2006), covering 989 games. The left-handed hitter recorded 20 or more doubles in each of his last eight big league campaigns, including a career-high 37 doubles in 2001 and 2002. Koskie owns a career .367 on-base percentage and .458 slugging percentage, good for a .825 OPS (on-base plus slugging).

Luis Rivas played with the Wizards in 1997, appearing in 121 games while hitting .239 with 100 hits and 30 runs batted in over 419 at-bats. He played last season wiht the Pirates. More about Rivas can be found on page 58 of Baseball in Fort Wayne (Koskie is featured on page 108).

Bobby Scales played the full 2008 season within the Cubs organization at Triple-A Iowa. The 31-year-old infielder set career highs in batting average at .320 and had 94 runs, 59 walks to go along with a .415 on-base percentage over 121 games. Why he has not already made it to the Majors is a big question mark in my mind.

Photo is couresy of the Fort Wayne TinCaps.

Related BBIFW Posts:

• Cubs Invite Scales and Rivas to Spring Training
• Free Agent Koskie Thinking Return for 2008

The Chicago Cubs have included two former Wizards, Luis Rivas and Bobby Scales, on their list of non-roster Spring Training invitees.

Rivas is the most known and experienced of the two. He has previously played with the Twins, Indians, Rays and most recently, the Pirates. When he came through Fort Wayne with the Wizards in 1997, he was a considered their number one prospect. He debuted in 2000 but saw his career largely derailed at the hands of several injury-plagued seasons.

Last season, Rivas won an opening day spot with the Pittsburgh Pirates, in part due to Freddy Sanchez being injured. On that season, he hit .218 over 206 at-bats and 76 games.

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.

Bobby Scales played the full 2008 season within the Cubs organization at Trople-A Iowa. The 31-year-old infielder set career highs in batting average at .320 and had 94 runs, 59 walks to go along with a .415 on-base percentage over 121 games.

He finished tied for eighth in the Pacific Coast League batting race and finished tied for second in runs scored. A switch-hitter and right-handed fielder, he begins his 11th pro season after he was originally selected by San Diego in the 14th round of the 1999 Draft [DesMoinesRegister.com]

In addition to San Diego and Chicago, Scales has played in the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies organizations.

You may also be interested in reading these posts:

• Rivas Seeking Spot with Pittsburgh
• Rivas Secures Roster Spot; Condrey Close; Others Not So Lucky
• Rivas Adjusting to Short

Photograph of Luis Rivas is courtesy of the Fort Wayne TinCaps.

Free agency season is officially open and there are 171 players who have filed. Check that; 170 (reliever, Jeremy Affeldt just signed with the SanFrancisco Giants). I got to wondering about former Wizards who might be looking for new MLB homes. So I hoped over to ESPN’s Free Agent Tracker and dug a little bit. Here’s what I came up with:

• Chad Moeller; Catcher – Moeller is the classic veteran catcher. Due to several injuries throughout the Yankees catching corps., Moeller got the opportunity to play a lot in 2008.  Over 41 games (91 at-bats), Moeller hit .221 with one home run and 9 RBI’s. He’d be a good fit for a team looking to add a veteran presence to back-up an emerging young backstop. Methinks: San Diego Padres.
   
• Oliver Perez; Starting Pitcher – Perez has shown flashes of brilliance at times in his career, but has never been able to be anywhere near consistent. In 2008, he put together a 10-7 record and a .422 ERA with the Mets over 34 games. He led the league in bases on balls (105) and struck out 180 in just under 200 innings pitched. He is likely to be the most sought after former Wizard on the free agent list but I am not sure many teams are going to want to pay his likely asking price (he made $6.5 million in 2008 and is a Scott Boras client). Methinks: Texas Rangers.
   
• Juan Rincon; Relief Pitcher – Rincon was one of the last remaining Twins from their affiliation with the Wizards (Michael Cuddyer is the only remaining). The team cut ties with him during the middle of the 2008 season and he signed a minor league contract with the Indians and was promoted in July. He earned $2.475 million last year. The 29 year-old has 7 years of Major League experience and woudl serve a bullpen well. Methinks: Staying with the Indians.
   
• Luis Rivas; Shortstop – At one point in his career, Luis Rivas was a highly touted prospect of the Minnesota Twins. But injuries and bad luck brought him to Pittsburgh, where he battled for a roster spot, earning $525,000 which is quite a drop from the $1.6 millon he once earned. Whiles it’s a feelgood story of 2008, Rivas hit just .218 over 79 games with the Pirates in 2008, which isn’t going to position him well for future considerations. However, his varsatility in the infield does make him a little more marketable. Methinks: Minor League deal with the Nationals.
   
• Javier Valentin; Catcher – At 33 years of age, the reality is that the veteran catcher who has 9 years of MLB experience, is not going to have many more contract years ahead of him. Like Moeller, he makes a solid veteran presence in a situation where the every-day catcher is just coming of age. Methinks: Minor League deal with the Red Sox.

Note: LaTroy Hawkins would have been a free agent had he not reached an agreement with the Houston Astros.

• Nick Hundley Impresses with Arm: Widely considered the Padres’ top catching prospect, Nick Hundley threw out would-be base stealers (Ivan Ochoa and Fred Lewis) to kill a pair of potential San Francisco rallies on August 1.
• Slugger Kulbacki Still Tearing it Up: Kellen Kulbacki is hitting .347 for the Lake Elsinore Storm. In the 61 games, he has 15 doubles and 51 RBI. Kulbacki batted .329 in June with nine home runs in 82 at-bats. In July, he hit .405 in 116 at-bats with eight home runs and nine doubles. This month, the 22-year-old is 4-for-8 with two home runs.As a result, he has been names the California League player of the week.
• LeBlanc Ties Career High With 11 Ks: 23-year-old Wade LeBlanc tied a career high with 11 strikeouts over eight shutout innings to lead the Portland Beavers to a 9-1 win over the Albuquerque Isotopes. Paul McAnulty hit a grand slam in that one too. LeBlanc (10-7) won his third straight start and it helped him earn Pacific Coast League pitcher of the week.
• Geoff Vandel has not allowed a run over his last 11 innings, giving up five hits. He has allowed one earned run or less in four of his last five outings.  It helped propel him to Northwest League pitcher of the week honors.
• Rivas drives in 3 to help Pirates beat Rockies: Starting in place of injured second baseman Freddy Sanchez, Luis Rivas led the Pirates with an RBI single in the third and two-run triple in the fifth to down the Colorado Rockies on July 28th.

One of the spring stories I’ve enjoyed following is that of Luis Rivas. The former Wizards infielder won an opening day job with the Pittsburgh Pirates, thanks in large part to injuries.

On the season, he is hitting .318 with 7 hits, 2 RBIs and a stolen base in 22 at-bats over 6 games coming into the day. This is all in spite of being asked to play shortstop; a position he is largely unaccustomed to playing.

But that doesn’t mean he isn’t trying:

More than four hours before first pitch on Wednesday night, and well before the Pirates took infield practice, Luis Rivas was out on the dirt at PNC Park, fielding ground balls at the shortstop position. [ source: MLB.com]

He played the position a bit during Spring Training, but most of his career has been at second base. He’s made three errors at the position so far, and while rookie Brian Bixler got the start tonight, plans call for him to continue playing in Jack Wilson’s place for the foreseeable future.