I hate when I do a bad job of managing our 40 man roster. There is nothing like putting someone on the DL and then not being able to take them off without designating someone for assignment, and even a minor league rehab assignment isn't possible early in the season. That happened twice in the first week of the season, with Cam Gross needing to be activated, and 22 year old Ilusuarte Calazans being sent down. We didn't want to send him down, but he was someone we could send down despite having a great spring.
Next up was needing to activate Alberto Vazquez. 30 year old Hector Martinez was the obvious candidate to send down, but he refused to be demoted. So we traded him to the Carolina Knights along with backup catcher Andres Flores to the Carolina Knights in exchange for pitcher Francisco Rodriguez and minor league catcher Ronald Sanders.
Rodriguez is the intriguing piece who my scout likes and thinks is capable of pitching out of the rotation, despite pitching out of the pen in the minors. So if we can add a #5 starter candidate for a backup infielder I'll be happy.
On the field the Monks started the season with a solid 16-10 record, tied for second and a game out of first place. Cam Gross has been phenomenal in his return from the disabled list going 4-0 with a 1.16 ERA, but did suffer a sprained ankle that could effect him for the next 8 weeks. For now I think we'll let him pitch and monitor him closely.
Two players hit their 300th career home run this month, 31 year old Luke Sutton for the Astros and 34 year old John Gilbert for the Tigers.
