Rob Brantly

Rob Brantly
Brantly with the Miami Marlins in 2012
Tampa Bay Rays – No. 30
Catcher
Born: (1989-07-14) July 14, 1989 (age 34)
San Diego, California, U.S.
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
MLB debut
August 14, 2012, for the Miami Marlins
MLB statistics
(through 2022 season)
Batting average.225
Home runs7
Runs batted in37
Teams

Robert Jacob Brantly (born July 14, 1989) is an American professional baseball catcher in the Tampa Bay Rays organization. The Detroit Tigers drafted Brantly in the third round of the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Miami Marlins, Chicago White Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants and New York Yankees. Before beginning his professional career, Brantly played college baseball for the UC Riverside Highlanders.

Amateur career

Brantly attended Chaparral High School in Temecula, California. The Washington Nationals drafted Brantly in the 46th round of the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft, but Brantly did not sign.[1] He opted to attend college, enrolling at the University of California, Riverside (UCR). He played college baseball for the UCR Highlanders baseball team in the Big West Conference. In the summer after his freshman season, in 2009, he played collegiate summer baseball for the La Crosse Loggers in the Northwoods League, and was named the league's top prospect.[2] In his sophomore season, Brantly was named to the Big West's first team.[3]

Professional career

Detroit Tigers

The Detroit Tigers drafted Brantly in the third round, with the 100th overall selection, of the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft.[3] He made his professional debut with the West Michigan Whitecaps of the Single-A Midwest League that season, recording a .251 batting average in 52 games played.[3] He returned to West Michigan to start the 2011 season and was named to the Midwest League All-Star Game. Brantly was promoted to the Lakeland Flying Tigers of the High-A Florida State League in July.[4] He finished the year hitting .274/.324/.400 in 114 games between the two teams.

Brantly played for the Erie SeaWolves of the Double-A Eastern League and the Toledo Mud Hens of the Triple-A International League in 2012. He was named to appear in the All-Star Futures Game.[5]

Miami Marlins

Brantly playing for the New Orleans Zephyrs in 2013

On July 23, 2012, Brantly, Jacob Turner, and Brian Flynn were traded to the Miami Marlins in exchange for Aníbal Sánchez and Omar Infante.[6] He was assigned to the New Orleans Zephyrs of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League following his acquisition. The Marlins promoted Brantly to the major leagues for the first time on August 13.[7] He made his MLB debut on August 14 as the starting catcher against the Philadelphia Phillies, going 0-for-3. He finished the season batting .290/.372/.460 over 100 at bats in 31 games.[8]

Brantly opened the 2013 season as the Marlins Opening Day catcher. He struggled offensively for Miami, hitting just .211./.263/.265 with 1 home run and 18 RBI in a career-high 223 at bats[8] while also dealing with injuries. Brantly spent the entire 2014 season with Triple-A New Orleans, posting a .255/.291/.341 slash line with 4 home runs and 37 RBI.

Chicago White Sox

On December 8, 2014, Brantly was claimed off waivers by the Chicago White Sox.[9] He spent the majority of the year split between the Double-A Birmingham Barons and the Triple-A Charlotte Knights, and batted .121/.167/.242 with 1 home run and 6 RBIs in 14 games with the White Sox.[8]

Seattle Mariners

On March 12, 2016, the Seattle Mariners claimed Brantly off waivers from the White Sox.[10] On April 3, Brantly was designated for assignment after losing the backup catcher competition to Steve Clevenger.[11] He spent the season with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers, slashing .244/.268/.432 with a career-highs in home runs (14) and RBI (43).

Cincinnati Reds

On December 3, 2016, Brantly signed a minor league contract with the Cincinnati Reds organization. In 2017, Brantly played in 46 games for the Triple-A Louisville Bats, hitting .298/.335/.435 with 5 home runs and 16 RBI. Brantly was released by Cincinnati on June 29, 2017.[12]

Chicago White Sox (second stint)

On June 29, 2017, the same day as his release from Cincinnati, Brantly signed a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox organization.[13] Brantly was assigned to Triple-A Charlotte upon signing, and was selected to the active roster on August 26 following an injury to Nicky Delmonico.[14] In 14 games with the White Sox he batted .290/.389/.516 with 2 home runs and 5 RBIs in 31 at-bats.[8] Brantly was outrighted off of the 40-man roster on October 4, and elected free agency on October 9.

Atlanta Braves

On December 22, 2017, Brantly signed a minor league deal with the Atlanta Braves organization.[15] He was assigned to the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers to begin the 2018 season, and hit .218/.254/.293 in 58 games before being released on July 15, 2018.[16]

Cleveland Indians

On July 21, 2018, Brantly signed a minor league contract with the Cleveland Indians organization.[17] Brantly finished the year with the Triple-A Columbus Clippers, going 7-for-41 (.171) in 16 games. On November 2, he elected free agency.

Philadelphia Phillies

On December 18, 2018, Brantly signed a minor league contract with the Philadelphia Phillies organization. He was assigned to the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs to begin the 2019 season. On July 12, 2019, Brantly was selected to the active roster.[18] Brantly logged 1 at-bat with the Phillies, a strikeout, and was designated for assignment the following day on July 13.[19] In 82 games with Lehigh Valley, he batted .314/.404/.462 with 6 home runs and 28 RBIs= in 236 at-bats.[20] He elected free agency on September 30.[21]

San Francisco Giants

On January 18, 2020, Brantly signed a minor league contract with the San Francisco Giants organization.[22] Brantly made the Opening Day roster in the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season, and was selected to the active roster on July 23.[23] Brantly went 0-for-3 in one game with San Francisco before being designated for assignment on July 28.[24]

New York Yankees

On August 26, 2020, Brantly was traded to the New York Yankees in exchange for cash considerations.[25] Brantly did not play in a game for the Yankees organization due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[26] On October 13, he elected free agency.

On December 12, Brantly re-signed with the Yankees organization on a minor league contract and was invited to spring training. He was assigned to the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders to begin the 2021 season. On July 16, 2021, Brantly's contract was selected by the Yankees, after Kyle Higashioka tested positive for COVID-19 and was placed on the COVID-19 list.[27] Brantly went 2-for-15 with a double and three strikeouts in 4 games for the Yankees. On July 26, Brantly was removed from the 40-man roster and returned to Triple-A Scranton.[28] On August 5, he was promoted back to the majors when Gary Sánchez tested positive for COVID-19.[29] Brantly went 1–5 in 2 appearances for the Yankees before being returned to Triple-A Scranton and removed from the 40-man roster on August 17. On October 5, Brantly was selected to the active roster prior to the 2021 American League Wild Card Game.[30]

On November 5, 2021, Brantly was outrighted off of the 40-man roster[31] and elected free agency.[32] On December 10, Brantly re-signed with the Yankees on a new minor league contract.[33] The Yankees promoted Brantly to the major leagues on May 22, 2022, when Higashioka went on the COVID-19 injured list.[34] He was designated for assignment on May 25, 2022. The next day, on May 26, he was outrighted from the Yankees' 40-man roster and optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre. Brantly rejected his outright and elected free agency, but re-signed on May 29 on a minor league contract.[35] Brantly played in 59 games for Scranton, slashing .269/.333/.352 with 1 home run and 22 RBI. He elected free agency following the season on November 10.[36]

Toronto Blue Jays

On January 6, 2023, Brantly signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays organization.[37] In 46 games for the Triple–A Buffalo Bisons, he hit .271/.390/.361 with 1 home run and 16 RBI. On July 13, Brantly was released by Toronto.[38]

Tampa Bay Rays

On January 7, 2024, Brantley signed a minor league contract with the Tampa Bay Rays.[39]

References

  1. ^ Alex DiFilippo. "Experience, catchers highlight Tigers' Day 2 | tigers.com: News". Detroit.tigers.mlb.com. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  2. ^ "Baseball America names Loggers' Brantly top prospect in NWL". Lacrossetribune.com. August 26, 2009. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  3. ^ a b c Dean Holzwarth (May 17, 2011). "Whitecaps catcher Rob Brantly blossoms into leader, swings hot bat". MLive.com. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  4. ^ Michael Zuidema (July 21, 2011). "Whitecaps all-star catcher Rob Brantly promoted to Lakeland". MLive.com. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  5. ^ "Mud Hens' Turner, Brantly traded to Miami | Toledo Newspaper". Toledofreepress.com. July 24, 2012. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  6. ^ Frisaro, Joe and Tom Green. Marlins deal Anibal, Infante for Tigers prospects MLB.com. Retrieved July 23, 2012
  7. ^ Fernandez, Andre C. (August 13, 2012). "Miami Marlins call up Rob Brantly, send Hayes to minors". MiamiHerald.com. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  8. ^ a b c d "Rob Brantly Stats". Baseball-Reference.com.
  9. ^ "White Sox claim catcher Brantly off waivers". Sportsnet. December 8, 2014. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  10. ^ "MLBRosterMoves on Twitter: ".@Mariners claim catcher Rob Brantly off waivers from @WhiteSox; place RHP Ryan Cook on 60-day DL (strained right latissimus dorsi muscle)."". Twitter.com. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  11. ^ "Mariners' Rob Brantly: Designated for assignment". CBS Sports. April 3, 2016.
  12. ^ "Rob Brantly: Searching for new club". CBSSports.com. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  13. ^ "White Sox's Rob Brantly: Inks minors deal". CBSSports.com. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  14. ^ Mark Polishuk (August 26, 2017). "Minor MLB Transactions: 8/26/17". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  15. ^ "Braves' Rob Brantly: Agrees to terms with Braves". cbssports.com. December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  16. ^ Steve Adams (July 16, 2018). "Minor MLB Transactions: 7/16/18". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  17. ^ Steve Adams (July 23, 2018). "Indians Outright Ryan Merritt, Sign Rob Brantly". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  18. ^ Jeff Todd (July 12, 2019). "Phillies Select Rob Brantly, Move Pat Neshek To 60-Day IL". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  19. ^ Ty Bradley (July 13, 2019). "Phillies Designate Rob Brantly For Assignment". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  20. ^ "Rob Brantly Minor, Fall & Winter Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com.
  21. ^ Jeff Todd (October 22, 2019). "Position Players Recently Electing Free Agency". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  22. ^ Steve Adams. "Giants Sign Rob Brantly To Minor League Deal". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  23. ^ "Giants Select Rico Garcia, Darin Ruf, Rob Brantly, Tyler Heineman". MLB Trade Rumors. July 23, 2020. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  24. ^ Steve Adams (July 28, 2020). "Giants Designate Rob Brantly For Assignment". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  25. ^ Steve Adams (August 26, 2020). "Giants Trade Rob Brantly To Yankees". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  26. ^ "2020 Minor League Season Canceled". mlbtraderumors.com.
  27. ^ Miller, Randy (July 16, 2021). "Yankees, Red Sox lineups Friday | Trey Amburgey, Chris Gittens in; Luke Voit on IL; Greg Allen, Hoy Park, Rob Brantly recalled (7/16/21)". NJ.com. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
  28. ^ "Yankees' Rob Brantly: Sent to minors".
  29. ^ Axisa, Mike. "Yankees catcher Gary Sánchez tests positive for COVID-19". CBS Sports. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  30. ^ "Yankees wild card roster vs. Red Sox: Complete analysis and final additions".
  31. ^ "Yankees' Rob Brantly: Outrighted to Triple-A".
  32. ^ "Rob Brantly: Elects free agency".
  33. ^ "Yankees' Rob Brantly: Back with Yankees on minors deal".
  34. ^ "Yankees place Donaldson, Gallo on COVID-19 IL".
  35. ^ "Yankees' Rob Brantly: Re-ups on minor-league deal". cbssports.com. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
  36. ^ "2022-23 Minor League Free Agents For All 30 MLB Teams". baseballamerica.com. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
  37. ^ "Blue Jays' Rob Brantly: Gets minors deal from Jays". cbssports.com. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  38. ^ "Transactions". MiLB.com.
  39. ^ "Rays Sign Rob Brantly To Minor League Deal". MLB Trade Rumors. January 8, 2024.

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