Reported on various message boards (JC tipped me off) but I can’t find a “professional” verification. It’s certainly good news anyway.
Sam McConnell is a lefty who has been a starter this year in AAA but surely will be used in relief for now. He’s a 28 year old non-prospect, but he has an important qualification in that he’s not Almanza or Nitkowski. He used to be with the Pirates organization but never made it to the bigs, then spent a year with the Phillies minor league teams and the last year-plus with Greenville and Richmond. The sale of Hodges would appear to be to clear a spot on the 40-man for McConnell, and you certainly wouldn’t want to risk losing a valuable property like Almanza by DFAing him. The Braves (bad roster composition again) didn’t have any minor league lefties on the 40-man.
I should be polite and say that I learned it from the Forum.
Why not Ray Aguilar? I know he’s getting shelled at Richmond, but that’s as a starter; his record as a reliever is excellent. I can’t imagine that he’d be less effective than McConnell, and he’s certainly worth the 40 spot. And he’s already 24 years old, so I doubt his psyche is too fragile. Am I missing something? Or are Cox and Schuerholz just stuck in the mud as usual?
Confirmed… ATL Transactions Page at MLB