Parker finds steady work, others still chasing

There’s been some movement since February when I wrote about a handful of older former Razorbacks still chasing big-league dreams. Here’s an update, starting with a reliever who did not pitch at all in three years with the Razorbacks.

BLAKE PARKER RHP, Los Angeles Angels

Living in a van down by the river?

Not quite. But that’s close to the plan Parker has decided on this season while maintaining a roster spot in the Major Leagues.

Parker, 31, willed himself onto the Angles’ roster with a fantastic performance in the spring, posting a 0.73 earned run average with 24 strikeouts and only two walks.

Parker hasn’t slowed down much for the Angels, where he’s 2-2 with a 2.01 ERA in 33 games. He’s a power pitcher with 47 strikeouts and only nine walks in 311/3 innings.

“He’s got a live fastball,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia told MLB. com. “He’s got a couple of different ways that he can finish hitters off.”

Parker, who’s spent parts of 11 years in the minors, mostly with the Cubs, knows too well the nomadic lifestyle of professional athlete. That’s why he bought a 34-foot recreational vehicle that’s now parked about a mile from Angels Stadium in Anaheim, Calif.

Parker, who was claimed off waivers from the Yankees, is a bargain, and it doesn’t look like he’ll be on the move again soon. But he’ll keep the RV gassed up just in case.

BRETT EIBNER OF, Triple-A Oklahoma City, Okla. (Los Angeles Dodgers)

Eibner occasionally appears on the highlights, but his lack of consistent contact at the plate has landed him back in Triple-A.

Eibner, who broke in with a bang at Kansas City last year, is hitting .191 with eight home runs and 28 RBIs in 220 plate appearances in the majors. That’s not good enough for a major league outfielder, which has fueled rumors that the Dodgers will experiment with Eibner as a pitcher at Oklahoma City.

Eibner, 28, was a two-way player at Arkansas, where he hit a home run and pitched a shutout in a win at Missouri State his junior season. But that was seven years ago, and he hasn’t pitched in a competitive game since.

Label me skeptical that Eibner can pitch effectively after such a long absence from the mound.

ANDY WILKINS 1B, Double-A Chattanooga, Tenn. (Minnesota Twins)

Look who’s back.

It’s Wilkins, 28, who was unwanted as a free agent during the offseason and began the year in an independent league with the Sugar Land (Texas) Skeeters. Wilkins caught the Twins’ attention after he hit .318 with 13 home runs in 43 games with the Skeeters.

Like Eibner, Wilkins is a solid minor league player who has struggled in his few opportunities in the big leagues. He has a .134 batting average with one home run and five RBIs in 43 games with the Chicago White Sox and Milwaukee Brewers.

CRAIG GENTRY OF, Triple-A Norfolk, Va. (Baltimore Orioles)

There are some athletes who play for the love of the game, regardless of the circumstances. That description apparently applies to Gentry, who is back in the minors after making the Orioles’ 25-man roster to begin the season.

Gentry, 33, was sent down after batting .162 in 33 games at Baltimore. He’s hitting .253 at Norfolk while playing against guys who, in most cases, are 10 years younger than him. But the former Fort Smith Christian standout rolls on with an eye toward returning to the big leagues, where he has a career .257 average in 489 games.

ZACK COX 3B, Double-A Erie, Pa. (Detroit Tigers)

Cox has found new life in the Tigers’ organization after playing last summer with an independent team in Wichita, Kan. But Cox, 28, is stuck in Double-A, a notch below the level he was at with the Cardinals’ organization in 2012.

He’s teammates at Erie with Dominic Ficociello, 25, who bats third and is carrying a .295 batting average with the SeaWolves. Cox is hitting .270 while playing mostly at third base.

MIKE BOLSINGER RHP, Triple-A Buffalo, N. Y. (Toronto Blue Jays)

The Blue Jays recently gave Bolsinger two choices, accept a demotion to Triple-A or become a free agent.

Bolsinger chose the steady paycheck and headed to Buffalo after going 0-2 with a 5.61 ERA in five starts with the Blue Jays. Bolsinger, 29, is 8-18 with a 4.73 ERA in 42 games in the majors.