Glenn

Sparkman

Sparkman made a pair of appearances at Triple-A St. Paul before being released by the Twins last May and inking a deal with the Buffaloes a few weeks later. The 29-year-old right-hander made 52 appearances (36 starts) with the Blue Jays and Royals from 2017 to 2020.

Sparkman was released by the Royals after the 2020 season. He’s appeared in 52 games over the last four years -- 26 of them starts -- and he’s struggled with a 5.99 ERA, 1.59 WHIP and just 111 strikeouts over 180 1/3 innings. He’ll be depth for the Triple-A club in 2021.

Sparkman was designated for assignment over the weekend and has now officially been cut loose. The 28-year-old holds a career 5.99 ERA, 1.59 WHIP, and 111/58 K/BB ratio in 180 1/3 innings at the MLB level.

The 28-year-old hurler was a fixture in the Royals rotation in 2019, working 136 innings over 31 appearances (23 starts). He was limited to just four outings out of the bullpen in 2020 before hitting the injured list with a forearm strain. Sparkman owns a 5.99 ERA and 1.59 WHIP over 180 1/3 career innings at the big league level. He’ll likely have to settle for a minor league deal and an invitation to spring training.

Sparkman went down with a right forearm strain earlier this week and is now effectively out for the season.

It’s an injury that would figure to knock him out of commission for a while. Scott Blewett has taken Sparkman’s spot in the bullpen.

Willians Astudillo doubled home a run in the second inning. The second tally came on a sacrifice fly in the fifth. It was a rare good start for Sparkman, who is 4-11 with a 6.02 ERA in 23 starts and seven relief appearances this year. He has just 81 strikeouts while serving up a whopping 30 homers in 136 innings.

Sparkman served up seven hits, including a solo homer to LaMonte Wade in the third inning. He was pulled after allowing four consecutive batters to reach safely to open the fifth inning. He finished with four strikeouts and also issued a pair of walks. The 27-year-old right-hander owns a bloated 6.18 ERA, 1.51 WHIP and 79/40 K/BB ratio across 132 innings (22 starts) this season. He’s lined up for a rematch against the Twins on Saturday in his final start of the regular season. He’s not a recommended streaming option in fantasy leagues.

Sparkman allowed six hits and three walks, and he struck out one. Unsurprisingly, the right-hander struggled for most of the evening against the Oakland lineup, as he just doesn’t have the stuff to miss bats against quality teams. Or average teams. Or teams. Sparkman ups his ERA to 6.02, and it would be a big mistake to start him on Saturday against the Twins.

The win was the first for Sparkman since he hurled the season’s most surprising shutout against this same White Sox team on July 16; he had been 0-6 with an 8.32 ERA in nine start since. He’s 4-11 with a 5.94 ERA overall.