Last July, the Los Angeles Dodgers made somewhat of a surprising decision by calling up Kyle Farmer from Triple-A Oklahoma City. He’d been placed on the 40-man roster the offseason prior, and began the 2017 campaign with Double-A Tulsa.
One explanation for the move was to better balance the number of relievers and bench players on the Dodgers’ active roster at the time; nine and four, respectively. And though Farmer gave the team a third catcher on the depth chart, he brought versatility with him as well.
Farmer memorably delivered a pinch-hit, walk-off double against the San Francisco Giants in his first career MLB at-bat.