Also posted at wgom.org

Justin Huber (1982)

First baseman/outfielder Justin Huber had two at-bats with the Twins in 2009. He was born and raised in Melbourne, Australia and was signed by the Mets in 2000. He hit well throughout his early minor league career, reaching AAA briefly in 2004. He was then traded to Kansas City, for whom he reached the majors for a week in June and then received a September call-up in 2005. He had been a catcher in the Mets’ system, but was moved to first base by the Royals. He hit well in AAA for Kansas City, but got only brief trials with the big club, batting only 98 times in three seasons. He was sold to San Diego late in spring training of 2008 but did not get much of a chance there, getting 61 at-bats in 33 games. Huber became a free agent after the 2008 season and the Twins signed him. He hit .273 with 22 homers in Rochester in 2009, earning a September call-up. Unfortunately, he got only two at-bats, going 1-for-2, before being injured for the rest of the season. Minnesota released him after the season, and he signed to play for the Hiroshima Carp in Japan. He came back to the United States and signed with Minnesota for 2011, but was released during spring training. He played for Somerset in the Atlantic League, then went back to his native Melbourne to play in the Australian League, where he was still playing over the winter. He probably could never have been a star, but he was a guy with some pop in his bat who could play first, corner outfield, and catch. It seems like that would have been a valuable bench player, but no one wanted to give him the chance to do it, and it’s probably too late now.