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December 04, 2009

Mighty Joe Is A Ranger

Texas claimed UT JOE INGLETT off waivers.

Not a bad pickup. At the plate, Inglett’s a lefthanded version of Esteban German, someone with good contact skills and patience but little power (safely ignore the short-sample, desert-fueled .516 slugging percentage he posted in Las Vegas). Unlike German, Inglett’s not eligible for arbitration, though their difference in salaries would still be quite small, not enough to matter to even the cash-strapped Rangers.

On the downside, Dubbing Inglett a utility infielder is a stretch. He played center field as a senior in college but was converted to second base by Cleveland, which drafted him in the 8th round in 2000. His experience at short and third is very limited, even in the minors, and it appears that Toronto, across four seasons, never seriously considered giving him a chance to start or caddy at short in place of decent-glove no-bat John McDonald (who the Jays just re-upped for two years). And Toronto waived Inglett despite losing last year’s starting shortstop, Marco Scutaro. Keeping Inglett will likely require a sixth infielder.

Inglett increases the 40-man roster to 38.

Posted by Lucas at December 4, 2009 06:14 PM