In the wake of the Brandon Allen trade, there have been some promotions and demotions in the system.

The long awaited and long overdue promotion of David Cook to Charlotte has occurred. Unfortunately for Barons fans, this comes at the worst time as Cook was to participate in the Southern League All Star home run derby this Sunday at Rickwood Field. He was also scheduled to start in the All Star game itself.

The most intriguing move was the promotion of catcher Adam Ricks to Birmingham from Winston-Salem. Three catchers in Birmingham…hmmm, I wonder. With outfielder Christian Marrero and utility man Javier Colina manning first base after Brandon Allen’s promotion to AAA, does this mean we see Tyler Flowers move there? Or will he DH more now?

Also moving was utility man Luis Sierra, who was demoted to Kannapolis from Winston-Salem after Intimidators’ first basemen Jorge Castillo was placed on the DL. This leaves two open roster spots in Winston-Salem and one open in Kannapolis. White Sox first-round draft pick Jared Mitchell is expected to take that spot in Kannapolis once he signs, which apparently is imminent. UPDATE: Winston-Salem utility man Kyle Shelton was activated from the DL, which leaves one open roster spot with the Dash. UPDATE 2: It’s possible that Ricks could return to Winston-Salem in a few days when Barons outfielder Lee Cruz is eligible to come of the DL.

Cheers,
JPN