Joe Mahoney, 1B

[emkayseven]

claimed from Baltimore per JCR

Roster now at 38

[Erick]

Plan A

[oakelmpine]

Championship !

[emkayseven]

Left-handed hitting Joe Mahoney, who was claimed off waivers from Baltimore this offseason, hit two home runs. Outfielder Christian Yelich led off the game with his first home run of the spring and added a double. Infielder Nick Green had two doubles.

...

Mahoney, though, needs all the impressionable moments he can muster this spring. He was noticed on Saturday.

“He’s got a lot of pop,” Redmond said. “He can make any ballpark look small. There’s a job open at first base and he’s making a strong case.”

Mahoney was a sixth-round draft choice by Baltimore in 2007 but he played in just two big-league games, spending the last six seasons accumulating 2,298 at bats in the minors and hitting 63 home runs.

Mahoney was acquired as additional first base insurance, joining veteran Casey Kotchman, who was signed to a minor league deal.

“Mahoney doesn’t have the big league experience Kotchman does,” Redmond said. “That’s a factor. But at the same time we’re looking for a guy that can provide some power in the middle of the order. Mahoney could fill that need.

“I’m sure there’ll be a lot of conversations over that spot.”

Mahoney homered off Collin McHugh to lead off the fourth and hit one with two on in the fifth off Hansel Robles.

Mahoney, who sports a tattoo of the Irish flag and his family crest on his upper back, welcomed the change after spending his entire professional career with the same organization.

“It was time for me to move on,” he said. “It’s a new experience for me. Hopefully it will work out for all of us.”

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/sp....yJtdcEHF.dpuf

[Mainge]

Open competition?
--------------------
Oh Lomo's still out.

[Miamarlin21]

Target date for LoMo's return is April 15. So unless Mahoney shits the bed, I would guess they would just keep him instead since Kotchman isn't on the 40. Especially if they go outside the organization for a catcher.

[Beef]

He homered twice today

[emkayseven]

Joe Mahoney, 26, doesn't know if he will make the Opening Day roster of the Miami Marlins.
But the Catholic Central High School product does know that his new team has given him a new lease on his pro baseball life.
Drafted by Baltimore in the sixth round out of the University of Richmond in 2007, the strapping first baseman/outfielder was selected off waivers by the Marlins in late November.
"It was just bad timing," he said. "A lot of guys (with the Orioles) really had good years last year. It is understandable. I have moved on. I am just focused on the present."
And the present is going pretty well.
Mahoney is in training camp with the Marlins and the left-handed slugger socked his third home run of the exhibition season in his second at-bat against the Washington Nationals at Space Coast Stadium here on Saturday.
"It is definitely a breath of fresh air for me. Hopefully it will continue to work out for me," said Mahoney, standing in the Marlins' dugout before starting at first base and hitting cleanup against the Nationals.
His two-run homer came against Washington starter Chris Young and came on a day that Bryce Harper and Ryan Zimmerman hit back-to-back homers for the defending National League East champions.
Mahoney had one hit in five at-bats and struck out looking with one out in the top of the ninth with runners on base against reliever Jeremy Accardo, who then got the last out in an 8-7 win.
Mahoney made his big-league debut last July with Baltimore but it did not last long. He saw action in two games and was hitless in four at-bats before being sent back to Triple-A Norfolk of the International League.
If Mahoney doesn't make the Marlins' roster, perhaps as a reserve outfielder/first baseman, he most likely would head to Class AAA New Orleans, the top farm team of Miami.
Does he think he has a chance to make the big-league roster?
"I have no idea. You can read between the lines as much as you want," he said. "You can't worry about stuff like that. We will see how it plays out over the next few weeks."
In 30 spring training at-bats, he was hitting .233 with three homers, eight RBIs and a double. Two of those homers came in the same game, on March 2 against the Mets.
"I feel pretty good," he said. "I have hit the ball well. I am trying to get ready for the season."
Last year in spring training with the Orioles he hit .174 in 23 at-bats and in 2011 he had a spring average of .412 in 17 at-bats for Baltimore. He was the Brooks Robinson Award minor-league position player of the year for Baltimore in 2010.
Was it tough to leave the Orioles?
"It was definitely a little bit, being with them since 2007. Making my debut with them was special," he said. "It is weird to put on a new uniform. I understand. They had to move on."
Mahoney and his wife, Melissa, spent the past off-season north of Baltimore and the Albany native worked out with the baseball program at Towson University.
The couple is expecting their first child, a girl, in August and Melissa will work for a few more weeks as a pharmacist in Maryland and then join Mahoney wherever he ends up to start the season.
Logan Morrison could be the starting first baseman for Miami with Mahoney and Casey Kotchman, a big-league veteran, battling for a possible backup role.
"Obviously, Mahoney doesn't have the major-league experience Kotchman does. That's a factor," manager Mike Redmond told the Miami Herald in early March. "But at the same time we're looking for a guy who can provide some power in the middle of that order. Mahoney hopefully could fill that need. It's going to be interesting. It will be a lot of conversations over that spot. We still got a lot of games left."
Miami hit 30 homers from the left side of the plate last year, 15th out of 16 teams in the National League, according to the Herald story.
"I am getting healthy and getting in shape and feel good and getting ready for April 1, which is the most important thing. I feel great. I have been really healthy for the last year or two. Health has not been an issue for me," Mahoney said.

Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/sports/art...#ixzz2NPzW54Tu

[HUGG]

strapping

[emkayseven]

First baseman Joe Mahoney has a strained oblique and will be out a while, Redmond said. Mahoney has three homers and eight RBI in nine games.

That leaves Casey Kotchman as the likely Opening Day first baseman, with Logan Morrison still rehabbing from knee surgery. Morrison, who has been running on an anti-gravity treadmill, did some throwing Wednesday.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/m...,3614618.story

[Miamarlin21]

Homie has struggled this year in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

In 191 at-bats: .188/.199/.262 with two homeruns and a 66/3 K/BB ratio. Yikes