A day after going 3 for 4 with a home run for the Milwaukee Brewers, infielder Cody Ransom has been claimed off waivers by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
As a result, the Brewers will play a man short tonight as they take on the Pittsburgh Pirates at Miller Park.
Manager Ron Roenicke said the team will add another position player tomorrow -- which happens to be Sept. 1, the first day for callups -- instead of a reliever, which he had hinted at doing last week.
The Brewers claimed Ransom off waivers from the Diamondbacks on May 23.
He hit .196 (33 for 168) with six home runs and 26 runs batted in over 64 games with Milwaukee. He was adept defensively, playing solidly as a backup shortstop, third baseman and second baseman, but struck out at a prodigious rate (79 in 168 at-bats, or 47 percent of the time).
"We're down a shortstop," Roenicke acknowledged. "Saw him earlier as he was packing his gear. He's going back to Arizona. They're in L.A., so he's going to meet them in L.A."
Rookie Jeff Bianchi will take over Ransom's duties as a utility infielder. While Roenicke didn't mention any names with regard to tomorrow's callup, a good guess would be Taylor Green, who was sent down to Class AAAÂ Nashville just prior to the all-star break.
With the deadline for setting post-season rosters at 11 p.m., Roenicke was asked if he expected any more subtractions from his team via waivers -- most notably starting pitcher Shaun Marcum and reliever Francisco Rodriguez.
FOXsports.com's Ken Rosenthal reported earlier in the week that the Brewers had placed Marcum on waivers, and it's a safe bet Rodriguez was as well, although that hasn't been confirmed.
Neither did anything to bolster their value to the Brewers on Thursday as far as swinging a potential trade. Marcum allowed five hits and walked four in a 4-inning stint in Chicago against the Cubs, and Rodriguez dropped to 2-7 and blew his seventh save in a 12-11 loss at Wrigley Field.
"As far as I know, yes, they're on this team," Roenicke said. "I know what the rumors were and stuff with Marcum, but they're here now and we'll see what happens. I know tonight it's important, if teams want to do something to have them for the playoffs."
Also, Roenicke made a slight lineup change, replacing Norichika Aoki in right field and in the leadoff spot with Nyjer Morgan.
"Nori, from the collision with Nyjer yesterday, his neck's pretty sore as far as trying to turn his head," Roenicke said. "Stiff neck."
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