Cuban-born backstop here to catch Fish

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This article was published 31/07/2019 (2281 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Cuban-born backstop here to catch FOR Fish

The Winnipeg Goldeyes have added a Cuban-born catcher to the fold.

Rey Pastrana, who hails from Havana, was inked by the American Association baseball squad this week. He recently finished a four-year college career at Marshall University in Huntington, W. Va., hitting .271 with eight home runs and 31 RBIs in 57 games in his senior year.

The 22-year-old rookie had a sound final year defensively, throwing out 41 per cent of base-stealers (24 for 59) while allowing no passed balls.

He fills a space created with Monday’s release of Cody Young.

Rangers reliever headed to the Braves

ARLINGTON, Texas — The NL East-leading Atlanta Braves have acquired reliever Chris Martin from the Texas Rangers for minor-league pitcher Kolby Allard.

Texas announced the deal during its game Tuesday night, just moments after Martin was seen high-fiving teammates in the bullpen before leaving down the tunnel.

Martin was 0-2 with four saves and a 3.08 ERA in 38 appearances. The 33-year-old right-hander has allowed only three earned runs over his past 19 games since May 24. The 6-8 Martin has 24 strikeouts and only one walk in 18 2/3 innings over that span for his hometown Rangers.

Atlanta assumes the remaining US$737,903 of Martin’s US$2.25-million salary.

Allard, a 21-year-old lefty, was the 14th overall pick by the Braves in the 2015 amateur draft. He was 7-5 with a 4.17 ERA in 20 starts this season for triple-A Gwinnett. The Rangers assigned him to triple-A Nashville.

Calgary approves new arena agreement

Calgary is going to build a new arena for its NHL team despite financial challenges facing the city.

Council voted 11-4 on Tuesday to approve a financial agreement with the owners of the Calgary Flames to build an event centre and replace the 36-year-old Saddledome.

The city and the Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation (CSEC) announced last week a tentative agreement that equally splits the cost of a $550-million sports and entertainment centre.

The 35-year agreement keeps the Flames in Calgary for that term, with options to extend the agreement.

“The most fun will be proving to the city of Calgary we can exceed their expectations,” CSEC vice-chair Ken King said outside council chambers. “This really is a great deal and we’ll overachieve.”

Minnesota not wild for Fenton after all

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Less than 15 months after hiring Paul Fenton as general manager, Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold changed his mind.

Still confident he has a contending team, Leipold decided to fire Fenton on Tuesday despite the unusual late-summer timing to try to redirect the franchise before it drifted further off track. The Wild’s six-year streak of making the playoffs ended in the spring.

“Our organization and our culture were a little different than the way Paul wanted to handle things. We just felt this was the time to do it,” Leipold said.

There was no “final straw,” the owner said, but rather a series of “smaller issues” that stacked up on his radar prior to the surprising move.

“It wasn’t a good fit. That was really it. The culture wasn’t the same,” Leipold said. “I didn’t have the same vibes with our employees in hockey ops, and I think the attitude of some of the players and all the people and the coaching and in the locker room and in the training room, it was just a feeling that we didn’t have the right leader for our organization.”

Kunitz hangs UP skates, joins ’Hawks office

CHICAGO — Chris Kunitz announced his retirement Tuesday after winning four Stanley Cup titles in 15 NHL seasons.

He wasn’t out of work for very long.

Kunitz is joining the Chicago Blackhawks’ front office as a player-development adviser. He will work with the coaching staffs for the Blackhawks and their American Hockey League affiliate in Rockford.

The 39-year-old Kunitz had 268 goals and 351 assists in 1,022 NHL games with Anaheim, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Tampa Bay and Chicago.

He also had 27 goals and 66 assists in 178 career playoff appearances.

In a statement put out by the Blackhawks, Kunitz thanked practically everyone from his playing career. He said his teammates “taught me to give my very best.”

— staff, wire services