Rainiers Add Veteran Bat

The Tacoma Rainiers early season issues have been more mound-related than bat-related, but that didn’t prevent the Mariners from signing another accomplished hitter to join the Rainiers.

Yesterday Seattle announced the signing of major league veteran Carlos Quentin to a minor league contract. He took batting practice with the club yesterday, and he is expected to be activated for tonight’s game. A roster move will need to occur to make that happen.

Quentin, 32, is an outfielder by trade though he played some first base in spring training with the Padres. He was traded to Atlanta in the Craig Kimbrel deal at the end of spring training, and was subsequently released by the Braves.

A one-time MVP candidate (2008 – he finished fifth in the voting), Quentin has had a lot of trouble with knee problems the last three years. He’s had two surgeries on his right knee and last year he missed much of the season with a bruised left knee.

Despite the knee problems, Quentin has been a dangerous major league hitter as recently as 2013. You can see his career stats right here.

The Mariners are simply taking a look here. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported it is only a 21-day contract, so look for the Mariners to carefully watch Quentin and determine if he can help the big league club soon.

For us Rainiers fans, we’ll get to follow along and see if a former major league all-star has anything left in the tank.

Carlos Quentin Fun Fact: he holds the PCL record for most times getting hit by pitches in a single season. He actually broke it twice: in 2005 with Tucson he set a new mark by getting drilled 29 times, and then the following season he broke his own record by getting nailed 31 times (in just 85 games!). That record still stands.

RAINIERS ROUND-UP

Yesterday: The Isotopes took advantage of five walks in the first three innings to build a 4-1 lead, and held off another late Rainiers rally for a 5-3 win. Justin Germano pitched very well for Tacoma in long relief, allowing one hit (a solo homer) in 4.1 innings.

Today: Albuquerque (9-5) at Tacoma (4-10) 7:05 PM (Pacific).

Opponent Affiliation: Albuquerque is now a Colorado Rockies affiliate.

Season Series: Albuquerque leads, 5-1.

Starting Pitchers: LHP Chris Rusin (1-0, 9.00) at LHP Mike Montgomery (0-1, 6.23)

Which Montgomery will we see today? The one that absolutely dealt in his Rainiers debut, holding Albuquerque to one run over six innings at Isotopes Park on April 13? Or the one that was knocked out in the third inning by El Paso on Saturday? Stay tuned and find out!

Hot Rainiers: Chris Taylor‘s hitting streak ended at eight games last night, but Jesus Montero homered again and has hit safely in 12 of 13 games this season. Montero is batting .352 with three homers.

Look Out For: Tacoma finally held Ben Paulsen and Tim Wheeler hitless last night. One guy we’ll probably see this evening is Isotopes reliever Tommy Kahnle, who was very impressive against the Rainiers in Albuquerque last week. He hasn’t pitched in the last three games so he’s due.

Broadcast: The pregame show starts at 6:50 (Pacific) on South Sound Sports 850 AM. The broadcast also streams online via the TuneIn app – just click here.

PCL Scoreboard: follow all Pacific Coast League games in real-time with links to Gameday screens right here.

Links:

• The Rainiers game story from The News Tribune includes an update on outfielder James Jones.
• Ryan Divish wrote about the Carlos Quentin signing.
• Here’s a story from Double-A Jackson on top prospect D.J. Peterson, who has moved to first base and is struggling at the plate.
• The Mariners received another strong pitching performance from J.A. Happ and beat Houston last night, 3-2. The M’s are off today (so get yourself to Cheney Stadium, duh).
• Bob Dutton has lots of Mariners tidbits in his notebook.
• In the PCL, Salt Lake won its third straight game – a 3-2 walk-off over Fresno. The Salt Lake Tribune has a story on the pitch clocks which leads with a doomsday scenario. It’s clear this stuff is working, though.
• Blake Beavan came off the disabled list and made his first start of the year for Reno in a 6-3 win over Las Vegas. Pete O’Brien hit his PCL-leading sixth homer.
• “The Chihuahuas flexed their muscles” in a 13-5 win over Sacramento. Abraham Almonte had a three-run homer.
• Oklahoma City improved to 11-3 with a 5-2 win at Nashville, and starter Zach Lee is now 3-0, 0.95. The Tennessean asks where are the best seats at the new ballpark?
• Chicago Cubs lefty Tsuyoshi Wada made a rehab start for Iowa in a 6-3 loss to New Orleans.
• Memphis had a five-run inning and picked up a 7-2 win at Omaha.
• Colorado Springs whitewashed Round Rock, 9-0. The Express pitching staff had some roster moves.
• Earlier today Atlanta Braves ace Julio Teheran was having a tough game, so he tried eating the baseball. It didn’t work.

Have a great Thirsty Thursday!