It has been announced this morning that AAA infielder Carlos Triunfel has been recalled, and Dodger reliever Jose Dominguez has been optioned back to Albuquerque. Per a
Dodger press release:
The 24-year-old Triunfel was claimed by the Dodgers on outright waivers
from Seattle on April 2. Triunfel, who made his Major League debut with
the Mariners on Sept. 2, 2012 vs. Oakland, has shown the versatility to
play shortstop (17 G), second base (6 G) and third base (1 G) in his 27
career Major League games with Seattle from 2012-13. At Triple-A
Albuquerque this season, the Dominican Republic native is batting .291
(16-for-55) with four doubles and four RBI.
At one time, Triunfel was a highly regarded prospect within the Mariner farm system, but that was 6 years ago. He was a Mid-Season All-Star in 2007 in the Midwest League and named a Rising Star in 2008 while playing as an 18-year old in the Arizona Fall League. So, he certainly was on the right trajectory towards stardom.
A
scouting report from 2008 stated:
A young, exciting, high-ceiling player, he's very instinctual on field with the ability to hit for average and power in the future. He has one of the best arms in baseball, Minors or Majors, with the ability to fill three positions -- shortstop, third, second -- in the infield. He'll have to watch his conditioning and may end up being too big to stay at short, though some think he'll be just fine there.
It remains to be seen if he'll stick around as a Dodger defensive replacement, but one would think that if the infield doesn't work out then maybe the mound might work. With his reputation for having a strong arm, I suspect that could very well be a potential fallback position. For now, he is a Dodger infielder, and is likely to get plenty of playing time if Hanley's thumb injury is worse than expected.
I made a Dodger fantasy Baseball card for Triunfel using a 1959 Topps card design and a photo taken from
Licey.com. Check it out above. Below are his career stats, via
Baseball-Reference.
