Angels claim OFs Marte, Kieschnick from D-backs
Club designates Boesch, Buck to create room on 40-man roster
ANAHEIM -- The Angels claimed outfielders Roger Kieschnick and Alfredo Marte from the D-backs on Tuesday, designating outfielder Brennan Boesch and catcher John Buck in order to create room on the 40-man roster.
Kieschnick, who turns 28 in January, bats left-handed and has mostly played right field since the Giants took him in the third round of the 2008 First-Year Player Draft. Kieschnick played in 63 Major League games for the Giants and D-backs the last two years, posting a .200/.265/.248 slash line. He's a .273/.329/.481 hitter for his Minor League career, and hit 15 homers in the Pacific Coast League this past season.
Marte, 25, played in 66 games for the D-backs the last two years, batting .174/.236/.282. The native Dominican bats right-handed, plays mostly right field -- though he has plenty of experience at all three outfield spots -- and batted .319/.407/.519 with 11 homers and 45 RBIs in Triple-A in '14. Marte was suspended after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs while in the Minors in '11. He represented the D-backs in the Futures Game in '12.
Boesch, 29, played in 27 games and batted .187 in his first season with the Angels, though he starred for Triple-A Salt Lake. Buck, who has 11 years of Major League experience, was signed as a Minor League free agent in July and hardly played for the Angels.