short hops
With Atlanta’s signing of ex-San Diego closer Robert Suarez, ex-Ole Miss star Ryan Rolison has been squeezed off the Braves’ 40-man roster and designated for assignment. The Braves recently traded with Colorado to get the lefty Rolison, who was DFA’d by the Rockies last month. Rolison had a 7.20 ERA in 31 games last season as a 28-year-old rookie for the Rockies. It’s unclear if he’ll remain in the Braves’ system. … Jackson native and ex-big leaguer Stan Cliburn has stepped down as manager of the independent Southern Maryland Blue Crabs after seven seasons with the Atlantic League club. Cliburn went 458-447 with the Blue Crabs, making three playoff appearances and winning a manager of the year award. Cliburn, 68, has 2,083 minor league managerial victories, ranking 12th all time, per a league release. Cliburn said in the release that he will “pursue other challenges.” … No Mississippi products were selected in Wednesday’s Rule 5 draft of unprotected minor leaguers. (There had been speculation that Blaze Jordan, the ex-DeSoto Central High slugger, might be plucked out of the St. Louis system.) … Jackson Smith, a Mississippi College alum, re-signed with the independent Mississippi Mud Monsters. The right-hander posted a 3.06 ERA in 20 games (two starts) in 2025. … Former Mississippi Braves standout Vaughn Grissom has been traded again, going from Boston to the Los Angeles Angels. Grissom, an infielder, made little impact with the Red Sox after coming from Atlanta in the Chris Sale trade. … Ex-Biloxi Shuckers star Brice Turang has committed to play for Team USA in next spring’s World Baseball Classic. The slick-fielding second baseman batted .288 with 18 homers last season for Milwaukee. … Former Shuckers closer Devin Williams, who had a rough go with the New York Yankees in 2025, has moved to the Mets as a free agent and faces the unenviable task of replacing Edwin Diaz in their bullpen. P.S. Kyle Schwarber, returning to Philadelphia as a $150 million DH, has built his legacy on monster home runs, the so-called “Schwarbombs,” many of them game-changers. In an article in the November/December issue of Baseball Digest, Scott Lauber writes about two impactful homers Schwarber hit long before his MLB days, back in 2012, when he was playing in the Cape Cod League, the college summer circuit. His manager was Cooper Farris, the former Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College coach. As the tale goes, Schwarber, coming off his freshman season at Indiana, was having a tough day in the Cape’s championship game, having made an error and struck out three times as the game reached the ninth inning. “Well, are we going to do something about it?” Farris asked Schwarber. “Yes, sir, I got this,” was Schwarber’s response. He homered in the ninth and again in the 10th as Wareham won the title. The next summer, again playing for Farris, Schwarber returned from a trip to Japan with Team USA, scrambled back to the Cape and went 4-for-4 with a homer in his first game, per the BD article. “Craziest thing I’ve ever seen,” Farris said.