In case you haven’t checked it out yet, here’s an earlier blog entry on former Rev Scott Rice making his MLB debut with the New York Mets on Monday. Rice threw a 1-2-3 ninth inning, striking out two.

With MLB rosters set, I thought this would be a good time to give an update on where former Revolution players are (or aren’t in some cases) in affiliated ball.

We started off with a list of 12 former York ballplayers in minor league or major league camp: OF/corner infielder Chris Nowak (Diamondbacks), outfielder Mike Hernandez (Tigers) and pitchers Scott Rice (Mets), Justin Hampson (Mets) Andy Wells (Mets), Victor Garate (Dodgers), Mike Benacka (Blue Jays), Ryan Feierabend (Rangers), Shawn Hill (Tigers), Mike DeMark (Diamondbacks), Ian Thomas (Braves) and Omar Javier (Giants).

Of that group, Rice is the only one who began the 2013 season on a big league roster. As for the rest of them? Well, six will begin the season playing somewhere in the minors, four are currently free agents after being released by their respective clubs and one – Nowak – has retired after being released by the D’Backs last month.

In the minors: Of all former Revs players starting the 2013 season in affiliated ball, Hill has the best chance of making it to the big leagues this year. Hill, a former big leaguer, had a 4.50 ERA in three spring training starts and six total appearances with the Tigers’ big league club. In his final spring training start last week, the right-hander Hill allowed just two runs on six hits in five innings of work against the Atlanta Braves, striking out three and walking none. He’s expected to be in the starting rotation at Class AAA Toledo to start this season. Hill, 31, went 2-0 with a 2.43 ERA in seven games (five starts) for the Revs last season before being picked up by the Toronto Blue Jays and assigned to Class AAA Las Vegas, where he went 9-2 with a 4.52 ERA in 15 starts. The performance earned him a call-up to the Blue Jays’ big league roster at the end of the season, marking his first return to the majors since 2010.

Thomas, 25, earned a promotion to Class AA Mississippi (Braves), where he’ll begin the 2013 season. The 6-foot-4 lefty came to York just three years removed from playing college ball at Virginia Commonwealth. He spent his first three seasons of pro ball playing for independent club Winnipeg (formerly North American League, now American Association). He started the 2012 season in York, compiling a 1-0 record and 0.96 ERA in seven relief appearances before getting picked up by the Atlanta Braves and assigned to Class A Rome, where he went 5-0 with a 3.15 ERA in 26 games.

Javier, 25, hasn’t pitched above rookie ball in his affiliated career. He is listed on the roster of the Class AA Richmond Flying Squirrels (Giants), which begins its season Thursday. The right-hander went 1-6 with a 5.67 ERA in 22 games (nine starts) for the Revs in 2012. After being released by the Revs in late July, Javier went on to pitch for Newark. He started six games for the Bears, posting a 2-2 record and a 3.74 ERA over 33.2 innings pitched. This past winter, he posted a 1-0 record and 2.27 ERA in 11 games (six starts) playing for Estrellas de Oriente in the Dominican Republic (where he was teammates with former Revs’ pitcher Scott Rice along with pitchers Julio DePaula and Pedro Liriano, both of whom are on York’s current pre-season roster, along with a number of former Atlantic Leaguers).

Hernandez, 29, will begin the 2013 season where he first began his pro career in 2006, at Class A West Michigan (Tigers), according to this blog post. The post states that Hernandez helped “the team win the Midwest League Championship” in 2006, hitting “for the cycle twice that season, and set a record at the time with seven RBI’s in one game.” The move of playing for a single-a club might raise some eyebrows, but when you figure Hernandez has had good seasons in the Atlantic League each of the last four years but didn’t get picked up by a big league club, I don’t blame him for trying this route. Hernandez batted .303 with with 13 homers and 55 RBIs in 104 games for the Revs in 2012.

Hampson will start the 2013 season at Class AAA Las Vegas 51s, the triple-a affiliate of the New York Mets. He got a call up to the Mets’ big league spring training club last week but got roughed up in the appearance, allowing a run on two doubles and a single in two innings of work against the St. Louis Cardinals. Hampson pitched for the Revs and the Long Island Ducks in 2010 and spent the majority of the last two years at the Mets’ Class AAA Buffalo affiliate. He earned a promotion to the major league club near the end of last season, returning to the big leagues for the first time since 2009. He posted a 1.30 ERA in 13 appearances.

Feierabend, 27, is still on a quest to make it back to the big leagues for the first time since 2008. He’ll continue that journey by starting out at Class AA Frisco (Rangers) this year, according to this press release. The 6-foot-4 lefty went 8-5 with a 2.91 ERA in 17 starts for York last season. He got picked up mid-season by the Cincinnati Reds and assigned to Class AAA Louisville, where he went 1-4 with a 6.75 ERA in seven starts before being released and returning to the Revs.

DeMark, 29, signed with Oakland Athletics’ organization shortly after being released by the Arizona Diamondbacks in mid-March. The 6-foot right-hander began the 2011 season with York, posting a 2.61 ERA in 13 appearances before being picked up by the D’Backs that year. He spent all of the 2012 season pitching for D’Backs’ Class AAA Reno club, going 5-5 with a 4.19 ERA in 53 games.

Wells, 24, is a free agent after being released by the Mets last week. Wells made just three appearances for York last season, allowing a total of 10 runs (eight earned) on eight hits and nine walks in 4.1 innings of work (16.62 ERA), before being released in June. He has been pitching indy ball his entire three-year pro career.

Garate, 24, is a still a free agent since being released by the Los Angeles Dodgers in mid-March. The former big leaguer made one appearance with York in 2012, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits in 1.2 innings. A Venezuela native, Garate pitched in four games with the Washington Nationals in 2009, posting a 22.50 ERA.

Benacka, 30, is still a free agent since being released by the Toronto Blue Jays in mid-March. The 6-foot-2 right-hander collected a 3.60 ERA in five appearances for York last season. York traded him back to American Association club Laredo in the off-season. As a result, Laredo owns his rights should Benacka opt to return to the indy scene.

Other Revs on the move: The Long Island Ducks announced Monday the return of infielder Bryant Nelson, who played for the Revs in 2011. Juan Martinez, younger brother of former Revs’ catcher Octavio, will make his return to the Atlantic League in 2013 with the Camden Riversharks. Martinez, 26, played in 12 games for York in 2011. He split last season between Camden and Newark (Can-Am League). According to the Can-Am League’s transactions page, Newark traded Martinez to Camden late last week.

Former Atlantic Leaguers are spring training releases: Slugger Ryan Garko and outfielder/pitcher Jason Lane, both former big leaguers and former Atlantic Leaguers, became free agents last week. Garko clubbed four homers, collected 16 RBIs and batted .450 in just 16 games for the Long Island Ducks to start last season before being picked up by the Tampa Bay Rays and assigned to Class AA Montgomery, where he hit .297 with eight homers and 40 RBIs in 61 games. He was released by the Colorado Rockies last week.

Lane, 36, began the 2012 season at Class AAA Reno, where he went 2-0 with a 7.59 ERA in 15 relief appearances on the mound and batted .167 in 10 games at the plate while also playing the outfield. He later joined the Sugar Land and posted a 9-5 record and 3.17 ERA in 18 games (17 starts) while batting .270 in 75 games. Called up to the Minnesota Twins big league spring training club last week, Lane got tagged with a blown save by allowing three runs on five hits in one inning of work in a 4-3 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. The Twins released him last week.

Former Bridgeport Bluefish outfielder Collin DeLome also became a free agent after the Atlanta Braves released him last week. Last season, DeLome batted .368 with five homers and 22 RBIs in just 23 games before being picked up by the Braves.

The Boston Red Sox released starting pitcher J.D. Durbin last week. Durbin, 31, is still trying to get back to the big leagues since last pitching there in 2007. The 6-foot right-hander had a combined 22-13 record and 4.68 ERA in 45 starts for the Lancaster Barnstormers the last two seasons.

Former Lancaster Barnstormers’ reliever Jeff Bennett was released by the Colorado Rockies last week. Bennett, 32, last pitched in the majors in 2009. He went 4-8 with a 3.56 ERA in 52 appearances for Lancaster last year.

The Washington Nationals released outfielder Delwyn Young last week. Young, 30, has 344 games of big league experience under his belt. He spent part of the 2012 season with the Camden Riversharks, batting .191 in 32 games.

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Here it is, the fourth and final recap of the 2012 York Revolution squad, this time on the bullpen and catchers (sorry catchers, no separate post for perhaps the toughest position in baseball). My apologies on getting around to this late, been a little busy covering high school sports as we get into the time of the year for league titles, playoffs, districts and beyond, as well as catching up on reading all the Sports Illustrateds that have been laying around the house for weeks (seriously, who can read those things front to back each week?) and breaking my ankles jumping on and off the Baltimore Orioles’ bandwagon (don’t act like you weren’t doing the same). Anyway, before we get to that, wanted to point out a couple newsworthy items worth checking out:

- Atlantic League expansion…to the Caribbean?: YDR Revs’ beat writer Jim Seip did a good job reporting on Peter Kirk’s intentions of possibly expanding the Atlantic League to the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico or Cuba (yes, really, Cuba). This would make sense, considering at least a fifth of most Atlantic League rosters are made up of players from the Caribbean. A roster could easily be filled should the league want to travel far down south. And if it can be any kind of draw like Sugar Land, why not give it a shot? The only question mark would be travel costs. It makes no sense to do it if the league loses money.

- Camden front office: The Riversharks sent out a press release Monday announcing longtime general manager Adam Lorber is being promoted to general manager AND team president. Lorber has served as the team’s GM since 2003. In addition, Lindsay Rosenberg, who has spent the last four seasons in group sales has been promoted to the position of assistant general manager. Rosenberg earned a bachelor’s degree in Sports, Entertainment and Event Management from Johnson and Wales (Rhode Island) University in 2009. While attending school, she had opportunities to work at both Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA and at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

Now on to the recap….

 

As far as publicity goes, the guys in the bullpen have it tough. Position players and starting pitchers normally get most of the attention. On the rare occasion a reliever gets anything said about him, it’s normally because he’s been lights-out as a closer or a set-up man or he made an impressive spot start. So, if a reliever doesn’t fit that category, he’s probably left out on the street with the rest of the guys who don’t get much attention, even if they might have an interesting back-story. So, lets just say this blog post is my attempt at making up for all of that….

At the start: At the start of the year, York’s bullpen consisted of right-handers Dumas Garcia, Ricardo Gomez, Omar Javier, Santo Luis, Stephen Penney, R.J. Rodriguez, Shaun Garceau and Adam Thomas and left-handers James Houser, Yunior Novoa and Ian Thomas. By the end Gomez, Novoa, Penney, Rodriguez and Thomas were all that were left of the original bunch. Newcomers on York’s year-end roster included right-handers Mike Benacka and Kris Regas and left-hander Wade Korpi.

Come and go: Garcia (1-0, 6.00 ERA, 27 games), Garceau (0-0, 7-71 ERA, 3 games), Houser (2-1, 5.50 ERA, 33 games), Javier (1-6, 5.66 ERA, 22 games) and Luis (0-0, 4-50 ERA, 3 games) were all released at some point in the season, while right-hander Andy Wells (0-0, 16.61 ERA, 3 games) and left-handers Matt Chico (1-3, 7.50 ERA, six starts) and Victor Garate (0-0, 5.40 ERA, 1 game) were on the short list of pitchers who joined York mid-season but would be released before the end of the year.

Picked up: Thomas the only York reliever and one of three Revs’ players to earn a big league contract this season (all three were pitchers)  in 2012. The 25-year-old earned his first affiliated contract after putting together a 0.96 ERA in 9.1 innings of relief for York. He had spent his first three pro seasons with independent club Winnipeg (Northern League/American Association) before coming to York. In 26 relief appearances for Rome, the lefty went 5-0 with a 3.15 ERA, striking out 58 and walking 15 over 45.2 innings pitched.

8th/9th inning guys: Right-hander R.J. Rodriguez started off the year as the Revs’ closer but lost the job to Ricardo Gomez when he left for the Mexican League mid-season. Adam Thomas served as the Revs’ set-up man the majority of the first-half and then split the duties with Rodriguez when he returned. Rodriguez did fill in as the ninth-inning guy occasionally in the final couple months. Rodriguez went 2-3 with a 2.02 ERA and 13 saves over 55 appearances. Thomas had a 8-2 record and 3.65 ERA in 67 appearances (64 innings), striking out 42 and walking 15. Gomez collected 17 saves, 2.66 ERA and 4-1 record in 46 games (47.1 innings).

Middle relief: Left-handers Yunior Novoa (2-6, 4.71 ERA, five starts, 38 games), Kris Regas (3-2, 2.78 ERA, 44 games) and Wade Korpi (4-0, 2.26 ERA, 3 starts, 18 games) and right-hander Stephen Penney (2-1, 3.13 ERA, 62 games) had good seasons in the ‘pen.

Novoa went back-and-forth between the bullpen and starting rotation at the start of the year before serving mainly as a reliever in the final few months. Korpi ended up being a good mid-season pick-up for the Revs. The lefty was lights-out in his three spot starts, putting up a stellar 1.93 ERA in 9.1 innings.

One other middle reliever, Mike Benacka, joined York in the final month of the season and had a 1-0 record, 3.00 ERA and one save in six relief appearances. But he took the loss after giving up four runs on one hit and two walks in 2/3 of an inning in Game Two of the Freedom Division Championship Series against Lancaster. The Revs didn’t like what they saw, either, sending him back to the Laredo Lemurs (American Association) after the season.

Catchers: Instead of dedicating a whole blog post to the catchers, it’ll be included here as more an honorable mention (sorry Travis Scott and Salomon Manriquez). York started off the year with Scott and Salvador Paniagua behind the dish. Etch’ used the left-handed hitting Scott and right-handed hitting Paniagua as a platoon. York released Paniagua on July 19 and signed Manriquez the next day. It’s tough in the Atlantic League to find a solid defensive catcher who can also hit well. And when that rare guy comes along, he’s normally picked up right away by a big league club since that’s so rare. That’s why it’s tough to be hard on Atlantic League clubs about not finding a solid-hitting catcher. Plus, it has to be hard on catchers to have a good batting average considering they’re not playing every game for obvious reasons.

With all that being said, Scott had a .228 average with seven homers and 28 RBIs in 81 games while Manriquez finished with a .287 average, two homers and 16 RBIs in 32 games. Manriquez upped his batting average in his final 18 games, during which he went he hit .387. Paniagua departed mid-season with a .227 average over 40 games.

(Note*The following stats are through Game 2 of the FDCS) As far as how they performed behind the plate, Paniagua caught in 40 games (38 starts) and caught a total of 328.2 innings. York pitchers had a 4.11 ERA with Paniagua catching. Revs’ pitchers were about the same in the 601.1 innings with Scott behind the dish with a 4.12 ERA. Manriquez, meanwhile, made 32 starts to help Revs’ pitchers get a 3.63 ERA in his 275.1 innings catching. However, all three had trouble throwing out runners at second and third. Paniagua caught 5 of the 40 guys who stole on him, while Scott gunned 12 of 48 and Manriquez nailed down just three of 25 base-stealers. That’s a combined percentage of 17.7 (20 caught of 113 base-stealers).

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Walking off the mound after the top of the second inning Thursday night, Ryan Feierabend toweled off in the York Revolution dugout and looked out over the field as rain came down.
The veteran left-hander wanted to keep pitching. But given what he’s been through the last six days, he felt it was only fitting that the umpires decided to call the game.

The Revs announced the signing of Feierabend just hours before the game against Lancaster. After being released by the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday, Feierabend made the drive from his home in Ohio on Wednesday night with plans to start Thursday.

“They asked me to leave at Cincinnati and then I come here. This (the rainout) sort of puts the cherry on top,” Feierabend said afterwards.

Despite his frustration with not getting a full start in, the lefty is glad to be back in a familiar place.

Feierabend went 3-2 with a 3.24 ERA in seven starts earlier this season for York before the Cincinati Reds picked him up and assigned him to Class AAA Louisville. He struggled with Louisville, though, going 1-4 with a 6.75 ERA in seven starts before Cincinnati cut ties with him on Saturday.

Roster moves: The Revs made two other roster moves on Thursday, releasing left-hander Victor Garate and sending shortstop Danny Gonzalez to Lancaster to complete an earlier trade in the off-season.

Gonzalez batted just .249 in 75 games for the Revs. In his only appearance for York, Garate surrendered two runs (one earned) on four hits in 1 2/3 innings Monday at Bridgeport.

The Revs have now made 11 roster moves since July 16, when Revs’ skipper Andy Etchebarren expressed concern with his starting rotation. With the most recent addition in Feierabend, however, Etchebarren said Thursday “this is probably the best the rotation has been one through five since the year started.”

Feierabend: Feierabend said he felt fine in the two innings he worked Thursday. He gave up a double and an infield RBI single in the first inning and worked out of a bases loaded jam in the second inning.

Lancaster’s Adam Godwin lined out to the warning track in right field for the final out in the top of the second inning when the rain started coming down hard.

Nearly 30 York Revolution officials had trouble covering the entire field with the tarp and after ten minutes in pouring rain they gave up and decided to leave the area around the third base bag and the entire third base line exposed. All stats from the game will be wiped out and the contest will be made up on Saturday as part of a double-header with two seven-inning games beginning at 5 p.m.

Louisville: Often times, the game of baseball can be more of a mental battle than physical. And for some reason, Feierabend said he had troubles with the former at Louisville.

“I got over there and I thought I had to do more when really I needed to do less,” he said. “Here (the Atlantic League) it’s the same competition as it is there. I think I just put them (opponents at Class AAA) higher up than the guys here. In my opinion, it’s the same caliber hitters as double-a and triple-a players. There are some more big league hitters here, and there are some triple-a big league hitters there. For me, it was that and I never really got comfortable with the team.”

A good sign for the Ohio native is that he’s felt completely healthy throughout this season. The former big leaguer made eight starts for the Seattle Mariners in the second half of the 2008 season but missed all of the 2009 season because of Tommy John surgery.

“I’ve been healthy ever since I came back in 2010. I’ve never been on the DL (disabled list) ever since. It’s just a matter of finding my groove and getting back. I had 20-some years on my arm before surgery and now it’s three years old basically so I’m trying to re-work my mechanics,” Feierabend said.

In his comeback from surgery in 2010, Feierabend went 4-7 with a 5.30 ERA in 17 starts for the Mariners’ Class AAA Tacoma team. In 2011, Feierabend went 10-8 with a 5.39 ERA for the Phillies’ Class AAA Lehigh Valley team.

A former third-round draft pick of the Seattle Mariners in 2003, Feierabend understands it may take some time for him to work his way back to the majors. And he looks to former teammate Brett Tomko as a good example. Tomko is a right-hander who has more than 200 games of big league experience, but has gone through numerous sugeries throughout his now 18-year pro career.

“He had it (Tommy John surgery) twice in 14 years in the big leagues. He’s gone through shoulder surgeries and everything. He had been released four different times until he finally stuck with a team. Hopefully one of these times I can get picked up and I’ll stick next time.”
Now back with York, Feierabend is just looking to do what he did earlier this season.

Now back with York, Feierabend is just looking to do what he did earlier this season.

“Maybe there’s a team on their way to the playoffs in the minor leagues and will see something they like and I can help them out,” he said. “Or even help this team (York) out going back to the playoffs.”

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Like York Revolution pitching coach Mark Mason said a day earlier, he did indeed have a chat with newly acquired Revs’ pitcher Derrick Gordon on Thursday about focusing more on using his off-speed pitches.

And the left-hander learned quickly what will happen if he leaves his fastball out over the plate when he did just that in the first inning with Bridgeport’s lead-off man Edgardo Baez, who crushed the ball for a homer to left-center.

Gordon recovered by holding Bridgeport scoreless from there, allowing a total of five hits while striking out one over five innings. It helped York secure a rain-shortened 3-1 victory over the Bluefish in the series finale of a four-game set at Sovereign Bank Stadium. The game was called in the bottom of the sixth inning with the bases loaded and York’s James Shanks at the plate with a 3-1 count.

So, what worked for Gordon?

“We talked about trying to establish the off-speed,” Mason said. “And we talked during the game in the dugout about fastballs off the plate, not over the plate. The first five pitches of the night he threw were fastballs and one was over (the plate) and hit out of the park.”

Mason further dissected what he meant about establishing the off-speed.

“Every time he threw an off-speed pitch the right-handers (right-handed batters) pulled it over the grandstand (foul) because they’re thinking fastball and they’re way out in front of it. He threw a curveball and a changeup. Every ball hit hard tonight was fastball.”

Gordon topped out at around 87 mph on the fastball, but he stayed in the 70s for most of the game.

Back on track: Both Mason and Revs’ skipper Andy Etchebarren said Gordon looked like he did in 2011, when he compiled a 2.63 ERA in 11 start for Somerset.

Chatting after the game, Gordon said he opted not to return to Somerset in 2012 and instead head west to Sugar Land so he could play closer to home in Texas. The Revs acquired Gordon from Sugar Land on Monday to complete an earlier off-season trade between the clubs that sent slugger Jason Botts to the Skeeters for a player to be named later.

“Sugar Land is about an hour and a half from our home. So, I decided to there,” he said.

Gordon didn’t do as well in Sugar Land, posting a 6.44 ERA in eight starts and seven relief appearances. He’s hoping it’ll benefit him by being a full-time starter in York instead of going back-and-forth between relieving and starting like he did with the Skeeters.

“It’s tough to get comfortable coming from the ‘pen and then into the (starting) rotation, back and forth,” he said. “But it’s one of those things you gotta do. You either do it or don’t.”

Garate: Left-hander Victor Garate, who York signed on Wednesday, threw a bullpen session for Mason before Thursday’s game.

“That was the first time he said he’s throw in about six or seven days,” Mason said of Garate. “But he probably won’t pitch until Tuesday because he wants to get a couple more bullpens in.”

Mason said Garate will likely start Tuesday’s game.

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.

Chatting with Garate on Thursday night, he said he’s looking to be a starter with York in order to prepare him for winter ball in Venezuela.

“I’ve always been a reliever in Venezuela. This year they want me to start,” he said.

A reliever for most of his now eight-year pro career, Garate spent one year as a starter in the pros in 2008 in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ farm system. That year, he put up an impressive 1.85 ERA to go along with a 6-3 record in 12 starts and five relief appearances at Class A Great Lakes before earning a promotion to High Class A Inland Empire, where he posted a 3-0 record and 4.70 ERA in seven starts.

The Dodgers signed Garate back next spring and he earned another promotion, this time to Class AA Chattanooga, where he would be used as a reliever.  He excelled in that role, compiling a 2.07 ERA in 47 relief appearances. But in early September that year,  the Dodgers shipped Garate to the Washington Nationals to complete a trade that sent infielder Ronnie Belliard to Los Angeles for righty Luis Garcia and a player to be named later (which turned out to be Garate).

Just days later, before Garate even saw time in Washington’s farm system, the Nats’ called up Garate to the big leagues. He finished out the year with the Nats’ by posting an umimpressive 22.50 ERA in four appearances, allowing five earned runs in two innings of work (in his major league debut against the Marlins, he allowed a two-run homer to pinch-hitter Brett Hayes, which marked Hayes’s first homer in the big leagues).

Anyway, Garate signed with York less than a week after the Nationals released him on July 12, which is somewhat of a quick signing considering a lot of guys wait a little longer – Revs’ outfielder Jeff Fiorentino, for example, waited about a month to sign with York after being released by the Oakland Athletics in mid-June.

“I was thinking I have to be pitching,” Garate said of his quick signing with the Revs. “I have to get work and get my pitches. I didn’t want to go home or anything. I want get ready for Venezuela. I will try to do my best here.”

(To learn more about Garate, check out this short “Getting To Know” piece that Pennlive.com had on the lefty a couple years ago when he was a member of the Washington Nationals)

Road trip: The Revs will now hit the road for a six-game trip beginning Thursday with a three-game set at Camden. Mason said he’ll send starters RHP Corey Thurman, RHP Omar Javier and LHP Chris Waters in the series. York will then play three games at Bridgeport before returning home next Thursday for a four-game set against Atlantic League Freedom Division rival Lancaster (who just had short stop Jaime Pedroza picked up the by the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday and assigned to Class AA Tulsa -  as a result, the Barnstormers signed infielder Kyle Haines on Thursday. The Revs released Haines a day earlier). That will kick off a ten-game homestand for the Revs that will last through Aug. 6.

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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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