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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It was a Tuesday in the third week of March when Chris Nowak got summoned to the office of Mike Bell, the director of player development for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Up to that point, Nowak had played in seven games at the D’Backs’ minor league camp at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale, Arizona.

“Mike just said ‘I don’t know what to tell you, Chris,’” Nowak said. “That was almost clear enough for me to say ‘Yeah, I know.’ They never know what to tell you. It’s about money and it’s about their guys, too. I was gonna make more money than a lot of their five- or six-year guys. And they’d rather move up one of their guys and have them be successful than to take a chance on a 30-year-old guy who may or may not be any good.”

The Diamondbacks released Nowak on March 19. Many current and former Atlantic Leaguers have been through similar situations before, including Nowak, who revived his baseball career with the York Revolution the last two seasons following seven years in the minors with the Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers.

Nowak said he an offer from the St. Louis Cardinals to be the third baseman for the club’s Class AA Springfield team. Faced with what he describes as one of the most difficult decisions of his career, Nowak has instead opted to retire from the game after nine pro seasons. Many factors were at play, including the birth of he and his wife’s first child, a daughter named Estelle Marie, on Feb. 3.

“It’s super life-changing,” he said. “I could’ve done it (signed with St. Louis) and been away again for six-plus months and done the whole grind of trying to make it to the big leagues. It’s just something that I’d rather chase being a great dad instead of being a great baseball player.”

Plus, Nowak wanted a break after playing baseball for about a year straight, from a tryout to play in Japan to seeing action in the Mexican League to suiting up for the Revs to playing winter ball in Venezuela before finally going to spring training. And he also feels comfortable going out on top with positive memories of the game.

“I had two great seasons in York and I had all those great memories and great friendships,” he said. “That’s the reason for my success there is because I had so much fun. I’m happy about that. I have no regrets. I wanted to walk away from the game without the bitter taste in my mouth.”

Next step: A resident of Waukesha, Wisconsin, Nowak said he has plans to pursue a business degree through the University of Phoenix. He’s not sure exactly where that will lead.

“Right now it’s obviously not as clear of a picture of being a dad and being here as a family,” he said. “Obviously I want to get a solid job and make a career in that sense and put my efforts towards it like I have for baseball.”

Records: Nowak leaves the game holding many York Revolution records. He’s the franchise career leader in home runs (59), multi-home run games (seven) and slugging percentage (.600).

He’s the Revs’ single-season record holder in homers (34), homers at Sovereign Bank Stadium (21), multi-home run games (four), extra-base hits (63) and RBIs (107). He also owns the records for total homers at Sovereign Bank Stadium (31) and over the Arch Nemesis in left field (23).

2012: Nowak was one of seven Revolution players who brought in 2012 Atlantic League first- and second-team honors. He and second baseman Andres Perez were also selected to Baseball America’s All-Independent team. It marked the second straight year Nowak was selected to the all-indy team. Nowak had a club-record 34 homers (seven more than anyone else) while collecting 107 RBIs in 2012. It marks the league’s highest total in both categories since 2005. The slugger also batted .285 in 129 games played and finished second in the league in walks (71) and extra-base hits (63), and ranked third in on-base percentage (.391). That followed a 2011 season where Nowak batted .330 with 25 homers and 66 RBIs in 84 games for York.

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The decision for Chris Nowak to sign a contract last month with the Arizona Diamondbacks actually wasn’t as easy most of us would think.

But how could that be? Nowak has spent the last two years crushing the ball with the York Revolution. He has seemingly turned around his career by making the long ball part of his game, something that had been missing most of his career and turned away pro scouts as a result.

Then he went down to Venezuela this winter (admittedly making good money doing so) for another opportunity to get noticed by pro scouts. And he batted .311, clubbed six homers and totaled 16 RBIs in 37 games with the Navegantes del Magallanes.

It must have caught the eye of someone in the D’Backs’ organization. Finally, Nowak had an affiliated contract again since being cut by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2011 after playing in 19 games that year at Class AAA Nashville. Surely he would jump at the opportunity with the D’Backs.

“It was exciting and kind of also like ‘Should this be my next step? Should this be something that I should do?’” Nowak said by phone Wednesday night. “Megan and I are having a baby. It was still really the hardest decision I had to make to sign the contract.”

Could thoughts of retirement be floating in the head of Nowak, 29, following nine seasons of pro ball?

“Yeah there was,” he said. “You play for so long. I’ve had fun and been successful but in the long run…just after prayer and talking long nights on the phone and through tough conversations with my wife it ended up being the right decision (to sign with Arizona).”

Nowak returned from Venezuela to his Wisconsin home last Wednesday, just in time to see the birth of his first child — daughter Estelle Marie — on Sunday. Nowak will report to minor league spring training camp at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale, Arizona, in early March.

He he has a shot at making the D’Backs’ Class AA Mobile club but said the spring training invite is essentially a tryout.

“The deal strikes for double-A but I’m not guaranteed a spot,” he said. “I guess it’s a tryout but hopefully going there and them watching me play a little bit I should be able to find a spot there.”

Nowak, who has played first base and third base most of his career, will tryout in the outfield for the D’Backs. It’s a position he’s only played sparingly during his career. But Nowak feels he has the skills and the speed for it. And he’s not gonna drop weight or doing anything differently to prepare for the position.

“I’m gonna stay who I am,” he said. “I’m not like a burner anyway but I’m not slow by any means, either. Maybe being as tall as I am and seeing me in the outfield will make some sense or whatever.”

Either way, Nowak feels this is likely his last shot to prove himself in affiliated ball — with the ultimate goal of reaching the majors in the first time in his career.

“Definitely. The team I played for in the winter would like for me to come back next year so there is still that in the back of my mind. It was fun and better pay and so on and so forth so it was still in my mind to maybe keep playing. But still this is going to be a long process. And I have the opportunity right in front of me.”

No matter what happens, Nowak is grateful of his time in York.

“I love York, the fans and the team. I love playing there,” he said. “It’s fun but it’s tough to keep going back to it. People know the league isn’t a high-paying league and rightfully so. You have to get your opportunity to play affiliated ball. If the league would pay more it would be enticing to come back. But when you have a family and you’re away from them it makes it tougher and tougher.”

Notes: Nowak also shared these others notes from the interview:

- Nowak played in front of crowds of 15,000-plus in Venezuela.

- He didn’t see any action in the Venezuela Championship Series, which the Navegantes won in seven games. The Navegantes brought in San Francisco Giants’ slugger and had little intentions of playing Nowak. “They had me there kind of as an insurance policy. Plus my wife was pregnant and I wanted to come home.”

- The Minnesota Twins, Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals also expressed interest in Nowak at some point during the winter. “The Twins actually called after I had gotten signed and congratulated me through the agency.”

- A physical education major when he attended University of South Carolina-Upstate in the early 2000s, Nowak said he was going to start taking online classes this March with the University of Phoenix for a business degree. “I’ll hold off on it another year and see what kind of opportunity evolves from this. Maybe next year go back to school.”

-Former Revs’ outfielder Stephen Douglas in camp? Nowak said he heard Douglas might be at the D’Backs’ minor league spring training camp but wasn’t sure. So, I called Douglas and he told me this:

“I’m hoping the thing with the D’Backs works out. They said more than likely a spot in centerfield in triple-A is gonna be mine,” Douglas said. “I still have to work some things out. Either way I plan on playing. I fly out to Scottsdale on the 15th (of February) and will meet some other guys and work out for the weekend and we’ll take it from there.”

Douglas is still under contract with the American Association’s Laredo club, where York traded him to last year. In his third game with Laredo, Douglas was hit by a pitch on his left hand and shattered the tip of his ring finger. He missed six weeks as a result. Douglas said he also has future plans to be an associate coach for Georgia Highlands Community College when it begins collegiate competition in the spring of 2014.

Walker going to Mexico: Douglas said he and former Revs’ outfielder Chris Walker are workout buddies in the off-season. Walker apparently played winter ball in Mexico this off-season and earned a contract with Saltillo to play this spring.

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On the same day York announced three more player signings for 2013, the Revs also learned one of the best players in franchise history got picked up by a big league club.

Credit to Revs’ baseball operations manager Andrew Ball on pointing out this one Wednesday. The Arizona Diamondbacks have signed former Revs’ slugger Chris Nowak to a minor league contract (Revs’ media guru Paul Braverman also said that former Revs’ reliever Mike DeMark is being brought back to the D’Backs this season after going 5-5 with a 4.19 ERA in 53 games at Class AAA Reno in 2012).

This comes after Nowak hit .311 with six homers and 16 RBIs in 37 games played for the Navegantes in the Venezuela winter league. The Navegantes are still playing in the playoff championship series, with San Francisco Giants’ World Series MVP Pablo Sandoval having extended the series to seven games. Nowak wasn’t in the box score for Game 6, but also on the Navegantes team is big league outfielder Endy Chavez and Texas Rangers’ short stop Elvis Andrus.

Anyway, it’s good to see Nowak finally getting another chance. Ball told me last week he was chatting with Nowak’s agent, who apparently said teams might be interested in seeing what Nowak can do in the outfield (if Nowak couldn’t find an affiliated deal, he likely would’ve came back to the Revs). Remember, Nowak has played sparingly in the outfield the last two seasons. So, it remains to be seen what he’ll do in the D’Backs’ system, especially since he’s spent the majority of his time at first base and third base over the last nine months.

So, with Nowak gone, it makes last weeks’ signing of third baseman Andy Marte that much more important. Nowak spent a good chunk of last season learning third base – and did a fine job, I might add. Had both Marte and Nowak returned to York, Nowak likely would’ve ended up at first base. So, the Revs will have to fill that hole.

Nowak becomes the sixth former Revs’ player to get picked up by a big league club this off-season, joining outfielder Mike Hernandez (Tigers) and pitchers Victor Garate (Dodgers), Mike Benacka (Blue Jays), Ryan Feierabend (Rangers) and Shawn Hill (Tigers).

Numbers, honors: Nowak was one of Revs’ seven players who brought in 2012 Atlantic League first- and second-team honors. He and second baseman Andres Perez were also selected to Baseball America’s All-Independent team. It marked the second straight year Nowak was selected to the all-indy team. Nowak had a club-record 34 homers (seven more than anyone else) while collecting 107 RBIs. It marks the league’s highest total in both categories since 2005. The slugger also batted .285 in 129 games played and finished second in the league in walks (71) and extra-base hits (63), and ranked third in on-base percentage (.391). That followed a 2011 season where Nowak batted .330 with 25 homers and 66 RBIs in 84 games for York.

Turnaround: Nowak, 29, will be entering his 10th year as a pro in 2013. But it’s only been in the last two that he’s lived up to the expectations that come with being 6-foot, 5-inch corner outfielder. When chatting about his turnaround in 2011, Nowak credited his success to a change to a longer and heavier bat, and the chance to play everyday for the same team for a sustained period of time. He also says the instructions of Brewers’ minor league hitting coach Al LeBoeuf in 2010 paid off.

“At the time (last season) I couldn’t take what he was telling me and incorporate it into the game because I was just so twisted in my own head from everything I had gone through,” Nowak had said in 2011. “Then the off-season came, I started incorporating things.”

Read that full story here.

This will mark the first time Nowak will play in the D’Backs’ organization. He’s spent the majority of his career in the farm systems of the Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers, reaching Class AAA Durham (Rays) in 2008 and 2009. He also began the 2011 season at Class  AAA Nashville (Brewers) before coming to York.

 

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Former York Revolution relief pitcher Mike Benacka and former Sugar Land Skeeters’ pitcher Scott Kazmir received affiliated minor league deals earlier this month.

(Credit to York Revolution baseball operations guy Andrew Ball for spreading the word on these deals on Twitter. I try my best to keep up on this stuff, but the months of December and January are really tough given everything else that’s going on with high school/York College sports). Anyway, the Benacka deal came to light when the Laredo Lemurs (American Association) listed on the Association’s transactions page that Benacka’s contract had been sold to Toronto.

Benacka, if you remember, was acquired by the Revs in September of last season from Laredo. As Laredo’s closer, Benacka posted a 2-2 record, 2.39 ERA and 12 saves in 43 appearances. The 6-foot-2 right-hander then came to York and finished the year with a win, save and posted a 3.00 ERA in six regular season relief appearances. In his only appearance in the Atlantic League Freedom Division Championship Series against Lancaster, Benacka got tagged for four runs on one hit – Blake Gailen’s three run jack – and two walks and a hit by pitch. York traded Benacka’s contract back to Laredo after the season. This marks the second time in Benacka’s five-year pro career that he got signed by a big league club after pitching at the independent level. He started his career pitching in the Frontier for a year-and-a-half before being signed by the Oakland Athletics. The 6-foot-2 right-hander then spent the next three-and-a-half seasons pitching in the A’s farm system before joining Laredo.

Kazmir: The Cleveland Plain Dealer first broke the news of the Cleveland Indians signing Kazmir to a minor league deal with an invite to big league spring training. Kazmir spent the winter pitching in the Puerto Rico for the Gigantes de Carolina club, where he went 0-2 with a 4.37 ERA in five starts. However, he had 27 strikeouts to just eight walks in 22.2 innings of work. This comes after Kazmir posted a 3-6 record and 5.34 ERA in 14 starts for the Sugar Land Skeeters over the summer. The lefty struck out 51 and walked 33 in 64 innings for Sugar Land.

Kazmir will attempt to make it back to the big leagues for the first time since 2011, when he made one start for the L.A. Angels. Kazmir owns a career 66-61 record and 4.17 ERA in 180 big league games (179 starts) from 2004 to 2011.

Nowak speaks: Check out a pretty interesting audio interview with slugger Chris Nowak on Fangraphs. Nowak sits down with FanGraphs’ Carson Cistulli to chat about his career, more recently his success in York and this winter in Venezuela.

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After playing for the Revs in 2012, starting pitcher Ryan Feierabend and infielders Chris Nowak, Joe Thurston and Johan Limonta are currently playing winter ball in the eight-team Venezuela League.

Feierabend, Thurston and Limonta are teammates with the Lara Cardinals. Thurston is manning the outfield and batting .197 through 15 games while Limonta holds a .353 average in seven games. Feierabend has posted 2.12 ERA through three starts.

The trio is on a team that is trickled with current or former major league talent. The roster includes, among others, Chicago Cubs’ infielder Luis Valbuena, Chicago White Sox infielder Jose Lopez, Kansas City Royals’ short stop Alcides Escobar, Atlanta Braves reliever Luis Avilan and former longtime big league infielders Cezar Izturis and Tomas Perez. Somerset Patriots’ pitcher Justin Cassel, brother of Chiefs’ quarterback Matt, is also playing for Lara, as is Southern Maryland Blue Crabs’ pitcher Nick Green.

Nowak is hitting .263 with two homers in 11 games for Magellan’s Navigators (these team names are awesome, aren’t they?). Nowak is teammteas with some talented players as well, including Washington Nationals’ catcher Jesus Flores and former Lancaster Barnstormers’ infielder Jesus Merchan as well as former big league pitcher Gustavo Chacin, former big league outfielder Brandon Boggs and former New York Yankees’ catcher Francisco Cervelli.

Revs’ player-coach and Venezuela native Liu Rodriguez is also a bench coach for a team in the league.

Another member of the 2012 Revs’ squad, reliever R.J. Rodriguez, is 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA in 11 appearances for the Guasave Cotton Growers (awesome name), of the winter Pacific Mexican League, where he is teammates with Lancaster Barnstormers’ reliever Beau Vaughan and Somerset Patriots’ utility man Freddy Sandoval.

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