Monday, August 4, 2008

Hey Guys, Remember Me?

In the past few weeks and this season in general it seems like a lot of guys who washed out of the major leagues a few years ago have been popping up on major league rosters. In the past month, Valerio de los Santos has started two games for the Rockies, Vladimir Nunez has pitched in relief for the Braves, and Mike Hampton finally returned to a big league diamond.

I've found fifteen players who have played in major league games this year after being out of MLB since 2005 or earlier. I thought there might be more, but we haven't gotten to September call-ups yet.

It's Been a While Players in 2008
  1. Sean Burnett, PIT, (out of MLB since) 2004
  2. Jolbert Cabrera, CIN, 2004
  3. Robinson Cancel, NYM, 1999
  4. Valerio de los Santos, COL, 2005
  5. Nelson Figueroa, NYM, 2004
  6. Chad Fox, CHC, 2005
  7. Jody Gerut, SDP, 2005
  8. Mike Hampton, ATL, 2005
  9. Brandon Knight, NYM, 2002
  10. Mike Lincoln, CIN, 2004
  11. Vladimir Nunez, ATL, 2004
  12. Oscar Salazar, BAL, 2002
  13. Dane Sardinha, DET, 2005
  14. Merkin Valdez, SFG, 2004
  15. Keiichi Yabu, SFG, 2005
EDIT: Jeff Sackmann informs me that Shane Loux (2003) has just been called up by the Angels.

Some of these guys have been on major league rosters all season long, while others have been short-term call-ups. It took a couple years, but Mike Hampton finally managed to rehab an injury all the way back. If you're a major leaguer looking for a last gasp in the big leagues, you might want to talk to the Mets, or at least sign with a National League club.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

While not technically a "player", another candidate for your list is the Blue Jays' Cito Gaston. He has not been an MLB manager since the Jays heyday in the 90's and since then has only been a batting coach and "special consultant". I never did understand why he suddenly became a persona non grata after all that success he had with Toronto. Cito's resurrection is eerily similar to the NHL Buffalo Sabres' Ted Nolan.

Cito also brought back some coaches who had not seen the majors in quite some time, like Gene Tenace. Another coach he brought back was one of the most overlooked 6-time Gold Glove winners around - Dwayne Murphy. And those wins were in consecutive years!

Anonymous said...

Breaking news - Rockies designated LHP Valerio De Los Santos for assignment today (Aug 04). De Los Santos gave up five runs and walked 11 in eight innings during his two starts for the Rockies. He's being knocked out of the rotation by Canadian Jeff Francis (who may get Wednesday's start).

Theron mentions him and look what happens!!

Theron Schultz said...

I have the power, I guess. Poor Valerio. Now he'll probably have to wait for 2011 to get another shot. Jim Riggleman and Jerry Manuel are other replacement managers this year that haven't skippered a club in a while.