Wagner catching on in Pawtucket
June 28, 2009 - Eastern League (EL1)
Portland Sea Dogs News Release
(Portland, Maine) - C Mark Wagner was promoted earlier today to Triple-A Pawtucket and will be available in the PawSox game this afternoon against the Syracuse Chiefs at McCoy Stadium. C John Otness takes the spot on the roster for the Sea Dogs and begins his second stint with Portland this season. Wagner joins OF Bubba Bell, 1B Aaron Bates, Otness and INF Iggy Suarez to join Pawtucket this season and make their Triple-A debuts.
Wagner, who turned 25 on June 11, was hitting .301 (46-for-153) with 18 2B (Tied with 2B Ryan Khoury for the team lead), 3 HR and 23 RBI in 42 games with Portland. The California native was leading Eastern League catchers in fielding percentage at .997 (1 error in 321 total chances) and pacing all E.L. catchers in throwing out runners attempting to steal at a 62% (18-for-29). Last season he led all Double-A catchers with a .997 fielding percentage and ranked 2nd in the Eastern League throwing out 42% of attempted base stealers. Wagner, who was on the disabled list from April 27 - May 13 with a hamstring strain, was hitting .324 (34-for-105) since coming off the DL.
C Mark Wagner's career with Portland: 136 games, .244 (121-for-495), 13 HR and 71 RBI. Wagner is currently on Boston's 40-man roster and is ranked the 30th prospect in the Red Sox system according to Baseball America. He was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 9th Round of the 2005 draft out of the University of California-Irvine.
Otness begins his second stint with the Sea Dogs this year and will be available to play in tonight's game at New Hampshire. The 27-year old Otness was hitting .348 (8-for-23), 2 RBI in 7 games with Pawtucket, including three straight multi-hit games. The Washington native appeared in 7 games earlier this season (April 29-May 12) with Portland, hitting .185 (5-for-27) with 3 RBI and 2 walks. Otness spent the previous two seasons with the Sea Dogs and has appeared in 147 games in his career in the Eastern League, hitting a combined .235 (123-for-529) with 2 HR and 60 RBI. He was signed as a non-drafted free agent by the Boston Red Sox on June 25, 2004 out of the University of Washington.
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