Maybe he’ll be back at some point. Or maybe not. But for now outfielder Brandon Haveman, 26, has opted to retire, according to Revs’ PR manager Paul Braverman.

Talking to Revs baseball operations manager Andrew Ball and Revs manager Mark Mason in recent weeks, it’s been tough to nail down exactly what’s going on with Haveman.

We know he missed some time with the Revs in July last season after his wife, Sarah, was named the new head women’s cross country and assistant track coach at Dayton (Ohio) University. Haveman needed the time off to help his wife move from their old home in Indiana to their new home near Dayton. So, we know he’s gone through changes off the field recently in that sense.

But at just 26 years old and still putting up decent numbers, it’s hard to imagine him walking away at such a young age considering he still has a good shot at making it back to affiliated ball, especially since he’s been playing professionally for four years.

The Mariners took the 5-foot, 9-inch Haveman in the 29th round of the 2009 draft after he hit .422 in his senior year at Purdue University.

Haveman put up solid numbers in rookie ball that year (.339 average) and in 2010 at Class AA Jackson (.296 average), earning him a call-up twice to Class AAA Tacoma in 2011.

But Haveman hit just .200 in limited action (16 games) with Tacoma, and the Mariners later released him in spring training this year.

“I hit .200 in triple-A with (35) at-bats,” he had said in an interview last June. “It’s good I have triple-A time on my resume. And I’m a career .292 hitter in the minor leagues. If I get an opportunity to play on a team, I will go out and prove I can hit .290 every year.”

And he did just that with the Revs after coming over to York following his release from Lancaster, where he batted just .182 in 10 games for the Barnstormers. Haveman would join York on May 24, just a few days after York signed former major league outfielder Bobby Kielty (who retired a few weeks later).

Although he had a .322 on-base percentage in 463 plate appearances for York, Haveman did have his struggles with patience at the plate, often swinging at the first or second pitch. It’s a trait that former Revs manager Andy Etchebarren had said needed to be corrected if Haveman wanted to be a successful lead-off man.

Still, Haveman went on to post a .296 average, six homers, 47 RBIs, 66 runs scored and 21 stolen bases in 102 games for the Revs.

York will definitely miss the speedy Haveman, both in the outfield and on the base paths.

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I’ll try to provide a series of recaps (hopefully have them all published by the end of next week when I find time) taking a look back at parts of the the 2012 York Revolution roster, both reviewing the season and giving my thoughts on the future at that position. We’ll start off with the outfield.

At the start: York’s opening day outfield consisted of Scott Grimes, James Shanks, Michael Hernandez and Stephen Douglas. Two of those players would no longer be with the team by the of the season.

York traded Douglas on May 23 to Laredo (American Association) in exchange for a player to be named later. Revs’ skipper Andy Etchebarren didn’t like what he saw out of Douglas defensively and he wasn’t putting up stellar numbers, either. Douglas batted just .221 with two homers, six RBIs, six runs scored and one stolen base in 21 games for York.

That left the Revs with three outfielders. But at the time, Grimes was dealing with bone chips in his right wrist. Just days earlier York brought in ex-major league outfielder Bobby Kielty that same week. Kielty wouldn’t stick around long, though, playing in just 19 games before ultimately deciding to retire, ending a 13-year pro career. He hit just .221 with three homers and eight RBIs for the Revs.

Roster moves: Just a day after shipping away Douglas, York signed speedy outfielder Brandon Haveman just hours after Lancaster released him. Haveman ended up being the spark plug that the Revs were looking for. Filling in for an injured Grimes in center field, Haveman took over duties as the lead-off as well and proved to be a big mid-season pick-up for the Revs. He finished the year batting .290 with six homers, 48 RBIs, 68 runs and 21 stolen bases in 106 games.

York later added outfielder Jeff Fiorentino in mid-July at a time when a couple outfielders were dealing with injuries. Like Haveman, the former big leaguer proved to be another big mid-season addition for the Revs. He went on to hit .311 with four homers, 27 RBIs, 49 runs scored and four stolen bases in 66 games.

Shanks: Shanks entered the season batting a combined .320 with York in 2010 and 2011. But he looked every the bit of his 33 years of age this season, often missing time with lower body injuries. His production also dropped off dramatically. The Revs cut ties with Shanks in early August after he hit just .249 in 77 games. Shanks soon found work in Southern Maryland, but not much changed there, as he held a .225 average in 25 games with the Blue Crabs.

Future: By the end of the 2012 season, York’s outfield consisted of Brandon Haveman in left, Scott Grimes in center and Jeff Fiorentino in right. Michael Hernandez mainly served as the designated hitter the final month or so.

The Revs’ outfielder could be very different come 2013. Grimes said Saturday night he’s not sure about his future as a ball player. That makes sense for the seven-year pro veteran. Grimes has been struggling the last two seasons to get back to the level he was at as the 2010 Atlantic League co-MVP. He batted .312 with 17 homers, 59 RBIs, 138 runs scored and 28 stolen bases that year as the Revs’ lead-off man. In 2011 he got off to a rough start but had a nice second half to finish the year with a .268 average to go along with 15 homers, 42 RBIs, 97 runs scored and 21 stolen bases. Grimes lost his lead-off spot in 2012, in part because of his struggles at the plate and also because Haveman excelled at the spot when filling in for an injured Grimes. When Grimes returned, Etch’ put him at the No. 9 spot in the lineup, basically serving as York’s “extra” lead-off man. Grimes finished the season batting .246 with 13 homers, 52 RBIs, 62 runs scored and 19 stolen bases. I would say it would be a smart move for York to cut ties with Grimes despite him being a fan favorite and a big part of the ball club since 2010. But Grimes is just too good defensively in center field. Only if York can find someone as adequate to play center (which is asking a lot) should the Revs think about that move.

Revs’ baseball operations manager Andrew Ball said Fiorentino would be a good candidate to be invited to spring training by a big league club in 2013. Should that be the case, and Fiorentino is successful in earning a spot, York would lose a solid outfielder and No. 2/No. 7 hitter in the lineup.

Though there are things he needs to work on, Haveman should definitely be brought back. in 2013. At 26 years old and just four seasons removed from playing college ball at Purdue, the speedster is definitely young enough to attract the interest of big league scouts (again, you have to remember the Atlantic League’s ultimate purpose is to get guys to the big leagues. Haveman still has to become more patient at the plate. There were too many times this season where he would swing at the first or second pitch of the at-bat. Etch’ repeatedly told me Haveman needs to take advantage of his best tool, which is his speed. That means Haveman needs to get on base more often. And he can do that by drawing walks. But that doesn’t happen when he goes down on just a few pitches. He could also improve his glove in the outfield, but that could come with time at Sovereign Bank Stadium, where the left-field wall can be tricky to deal with at times.

Of the four outfielders on York’s 2012 playoff roster, Hernandez is the only one I wouldn’t mind seeing go. He reminds me a lot of James Shanks last year. He put up good numbers despite being hobbled with knick-knack injuries throughout the season. Who knows how he’ll be at age 29 next year with those legs being a year older. And Ball said Hernandez might be playing winter ball during the off-season. One would think after being banged up for the last five months or so he’d just rest his body and get ready for 2013. Sure, he batted .303 with 13 homers, 55 RBIs and 55 runs scored. But he’s not the fastest outfielder in the world. So, if the Revs can find a replacement who can hit for average and is a little bit faster and younger (obviously easier said than done) then it would make sense to part ways with Hernandez.

 

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Well, Revs’ skipper Andy Etchebarren had said a couple times this week he was planning on making roster moves. And given York’s recent woes, it’s understandable. Earlier in the week, the Revs released left-handed starter Matt Chico a day after he allowed seven runs on eight hits in 1.1 innings of work. The move came after York acquired left-hander Derrick Gordon from Sugar Land. That deal completed an off-season trade between the clubs.

On Wednesday, the Revs announced a few more moves by activating outfielder Brandon Haveman and signing left-handed reliever Victor Garate while releasing infielder Kyle Haines and right-handed reliever Dumas Garcia.

Haveman will return to action on Thursday for York after missing the last six games to help his wife, Sarah, move from their old home in Indiana to their new home near Dayton University, where Sarah was recently named the school’s new cross country coach.

Garate is a 27-year-old reliever who saw four games of big league action with the Washington Nationals in 2009. He comes to York from Class AAA Nashville (Brewers), where he had a 7.78 ERA in 29 relief appearances.

Revs’ pitching coach Mark Mason said Wednesday he plans to eventually use Garate as a starter, something he did for the first time in his career over winter ball.

“Probably the next time through the rotation he won’t (start). The next time through the rotation he will. Within the next ten days,” Mason said.

The switch-hitting Haines batted just .217 with two RBIs in limited action (eight games) for York. The Revs had acquired him in late June in a trade with the Gary South Shore Railcats (American Association) in exchange for future considerations. His arrival in York had marked the third time in his career playing in the Atlantic League after previously playing for the Camden Riversharks in 2009 and 2010. A former prospect of the San Francisco Giants and Cleveland Indians, Haines came to York after batting .258 in 35 games for the Railcats this season.

Garcia, 29, posted a 6.00 ERA in 27 relief appearances for the Revs. He allowed 41 hits and 18 walks while striking out 35 batters in 33 total innings. The right-hander’s numbers were off from those he put a year ago with York, when he compiled a .470 ERA in four starts and nine relief appearances.

Etch’ also added after Wednesday’s game that he’s not done making moves this week despite the several recent additions and subtractions the club has already made.

Looking ahead to Thursday: The moves come after York fell to the Bridgeport Bluefish in an 8-4 loss at Sovereign Bank Stadium in a game that started at 11 a.m. on Wednesday. The Revs have now lost seven of their last eight games and dropped to 37-39 overall and 1-5 in the second half.

The Revs will try to get back on the winning track on Thursday when Gordon makes his Revs’ debut. The left-hander posted a 6.44 ERA and 1-4 record in eight starts and seven relief appearances for the Skeeters. Mason said he’s looking forward to working with Gordon to get him back on track to the numbers he put up last year with Somerset, when he posted a 2.63 ERA and 7-4 record in 11 starts.

“I think he’s more of a fastball guy this year, against us anyways. And I think last year he was more of a change-up guy. So, I don’t know if he changed his approach or what,” Mason said. “He seems to be more of a power pitcher this year and he wasn’t last year. I’m going to talk to him about that.”

The Revs offense will face Bridgeport lefty Dan Serafini (3-0, 2.73 ERA) on Thursday.

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The York Revolution made a couple of roster moves on Friday, signing former major league outfielder Jeff Fiorentino and placing outfielder Brandon Haveman on the inactive list.

There’s no injury worries concerning Haveman. Rather, the speedy lead-off man is taking time off to help his wife, Sarah, move from their old home in Indiana to their new home near Dayton University. The school recently named Sarah the new cross country coach.

Fiorentino: The case of 29-year-old Fiorentino is an interesting one. Back in 2005, he was just a couple years removed from playing college ball at Florida Atlantic University. In just his second year as an Orioles prospect, Fiorentino was 22 and playing at Class A Frederick when Baltimore called him up to the big leagues for the first time in his career.

According to published reports, Fiorentino was a tweener-type, a good organizational guy who had been rushed to the bigs but not a decent prospect. He spent parts of the 2005 and 2006 seasons with the Orioles, getting into 32 games, and hitting .253 with a homer and 12 RBIs. He has mostly bounced around between the O’s and Oakland A’s organizations since then, playing in two big league games with the A’s in 2008 and 24 games with the O’s in 2009. In all, Fiorentino has 58 games at the major league level, where he has a career .270 batting average with one homer and 21 RBIs.

Fiorentino, who is a left-handed batter, comes over to York after playing at Class AAA Sacramento River Cats (A’s), who released him on June 2 after he hit just .186 in 16 games.

Injury concerns? Revs’ skipper Andy Etchebarren had said last Sunday that outfielder James Shanks (tendonitis, hamstring) is battling issues in his left leg, while third baseman Ramon Castro has an undisclosed injury. Castro did not see action in Wednesday’s Atlantic League All-Star game. It’s unclear if either player will miss any time. But Fiorentino’s addition definitely gives York some depth in the outfield right now.

2nd half opener: York opens up the second half of the season tonight (Friday) against Atlantic League Freedom Division rival Lancaster. The Barnstormers won the first-half Freedom Division by nine games over York. As a result, the Revs will now be aiming for the second-half division title or a wildcard spot to make the playoffs. The Revs will play Lancaster at home seven times this month before finishing up the head-to-head with the Barnstormers with three games at Lancaster in August. York went 6-4 against Lancaster in the first half of the season.

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The 2012 Atlantic League All-Star at Camden’ Campbell’s Field on Wednesday night turned out to be a pitcher’s dual.

And York’s two pitchers who saw action ended up putting on stellar performances in the Freedom Division’s come-from-behind 9-5 win over the Liberty Division.

Managing the Freedom Division along with his coaching staff for the second consecutive year, Revs’ skipper Andy Etchebarren put his own pitcher, Corey Thurman, on the mound to start the third.

Later in the game, Revs’ reliever Adam Thomas picked up the win by tossing a scoreless eighth.

Revs’ outfielder Michael Hernandez and second baseman Andres Perez were in the starting lineup for the Freedom Division. York third baseman Ramon Castro, who was selected to the game, did not play. Revs’ outfielder Brandon Haveman saw action later in the game.

Click here for the full recap of the game and how York’s players performed.

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The Revs dropped a 4-1 decision to the Camden Riversharks in front of 2,762 fans at Sovereign Bank Stadium on a muggy Sunday evening. It marked the final game of the first half for York (36-34), who officially finished in second place in the Atlantic League Freedom Division behind Lancaster (45-25) by nine games.

(To check out the full game story, click here).

And chatting with Revs’ skipper Andy Etchebarren after the loss, things don’t sound good on the health front for York. Outfielder James Shanks and third baseman Ramon Castro were out of the lineup on Sunday. Shanks, who has been battling tendonitis in his left knee all season, tweaked his hamstring at Camden on Saturday. Etchebarren said Castro is dealing with a health issue, too, but didn’t disclose further details. And he said the pair could be out of action when York begins the second half on Friday at home with the first of a three-game set against Lancaster.

“If you got to start the second half against Lancaster without those two guys, then you’re hurting a little bit. Do I gotta bring somebody else in? Probably,” Etchebarren said.

Outfielder Brandon Haveman will also miss time at start the second half. Haveman’s wife, Sarah, was recently named the new head women’s cross country and assistant track coach at Dayton (Ohio) University. Brandon Haveman said he needs to help his wife move from their old home in Indiana to their new home near Dayton. He still plans on playing in the 2012 Atlantic League All-Star game on Wednesday, but he’ll be out a total of six games for the Revs to start the second half, returning on July 19.

It’s unclear if Shanks or Castro will play in the All-Star game.

York’s poor start to the first half of the season (they began 3-10 and 8-16) made it even more difficult to catch Lancaster in the Atlantic League Freedom Division. And it sounds like the second half could off to a bumpy start as well.

Castro (.298 batting average, league-leading 50 RBIs), Shanks (.255, eight homers, 35 RBIs), and Haveman (.319, 31 runs, eight stolen bases) are three of York’s top hitters. Etchebarren said he might make a roster move in the coming days to make up for the possible absence of the three position players. He is also looking to improve the starting rotation.

“We got to try to improve the starting pitching somehow,” he said. “As for right now there’s nobody out there. Hopefully we can survive the first couple of weeks of the second half and we’ll have some pitchers the first week of August.”

Gomez named closer: On a lighter note, Etch’ said righty reliever Ricardo Gomez is officially the team’s closer. With a scoreless ninth inning on Sunday, Gomez has gone 13 scoreless innings in his last 12 games since returning from the disabled list on June 8.

“And he’s the closer when R.J. comes back, too,” said Etch’, referring to reliever R.J. Rodriguez, who had a 2.36 ERA and 11 saves when he was picked up on June 25 by Campeche (Mexican League). Rodriguez will likely return to York when the Mexican League wraps up its season in August.

“When R.J. left and went to Mexico, this guy (Gomez) has done a good job,” Etch’ said.

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