Before going any further with this topic, please no condolences or sympathies, I believe the news today was positive... thanks
The Diamondbacks farm director called my son into his office and said they were going in a different direction. My son said thanks for the opportunity and it was at most a two minute conversation.
He had been climbing and doing well in the Tampa organization. It was a perfect fit for his skill set and looking back, it makes sense why it was Tampa who drafted him. In July of 2013, he was traded straight up from Tampa for Ryan Roberts to Arizona and promoted to AAA. He started out very slowly at AAA but found his groove at the end of September where he hit over .300 in September and the playoffs. His team won the AAA national championship played in Durham, NC and imho he was the MVP of the game. We felt it was a matter of time before he got to the big leagues and we were wrong about that.
The next spring training, the D-Backs promoted two first round picks who were both infielders and the way it works is those type of guys play. My son started platooning with another fine kid named Taylor Harbin who he had played at Clemson. Later that summer, he slipped in the shower and cracked two ribs and ended up missing 6 weeks. He finished the season hot, was starting everyday, and had his average up to .290 at years end. Last year more guys were promoted and he again was relegated to backup duties. He started getting hot again but then unfortunately tore his hamstring which ended his season. These last two injuries were both fluky and the only two in his entire career where he missed playing time. The last two years the D-Backs have treated him almost like he did not exist and that still seems odd to me given they traded for him. It is amazing how fortunes change in this game. When he was traded, our whole family felt he was an inch from the big leagues, now he is a free agent. For some odd reason, I believe free agency will be good for him. He'll either find a new team or he'll find a new path in baseball.