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Like many of you I follow some players that my son played with and against, as they have moved onto college and the pros. 

One former teammate is a bit of a mystery right now. He was drafted in the high teens last year, played in a rookie league, and did well enough to get promoted to low A, where he did well enough to get invited to Spring Training with the big club.  Looks like there he did just fair in light duty.

So I checked his MiLB page when minor league play started, and it still showed him on his former team, wiht his status listed as "Assigned to New Team/Level".  I checked again today, and there's no change.  He's not on the roster of his old low A team, or of the next couple of teams up the ladder.  His page shows the last transaction being assigned to the MLB team, but he's not on their roster now.

Any idea what could have happened to him?  I'm wondering if he had an injury and didn't go on a disabled list because he wasn't rostered on a team. 

Last edited by JCG
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It is called "extended spring training".  They stay in Florida/Arizona when the season starts and are at the ready to be placed on a team due to injury, release, and the short season team and rookie teams that start up mid- June.  It also gives the brass another look at players before the draft/release period and access their needs.

FWIW:  The DL is now called the IL:  Injured List.

 

It's always better to actually make a roster right out of Spring Training, but there can still be really valuable reps in extended Spring Training.  In the Brewers organization, Jimmy Nelson (one of their best pitchers in 2017 and then had shoulder surgery in 2018) was in extended spring training this year getting reps as part of his rehab.  By all accounts his secondary pitches this year are "filthy".  The position players in extended spring training are getting valuable at bats facing a pitcher like that....

Then of course there is the reality that there are thousands of jobs in Baseball after the playing days are done.  Being a good "organizational soldier" in extended spring can go a long ways in terms of future resumes & references if a player chooses to go that route.

Last edited by 3and2Fastball

From having tracked kids for about ten years through MiLb.com it’s not always up to date if the player has been released. I cross check against baseballcube.com. Then if I find nothing I search “their name baseball.” One version of baseballreference.com includes minors and Indy ball.

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