The Rockies have designated righthander Taylor Buchholz for assignment according to Troy Renck of The Denver Post (via Twitter). The move frees up a 40-man roster spot for catcher Paul Phillips.
Buchholz, 28, missed the entire 2009 season and most of 2010 due to Tommy John surgery. He returned in July to throw ten reasonably effective innings (4.50 ERA, 8.1 K/9) before landing on the disabled list with back stiffness. As Renck explains in a second tweet, Buchholz can choose to become a free agent if he goes unclaimed on waivers, however he would forfeit the $163K left on his contract by doing so.
Acquired from the Astros in the Jason Jennings trade four years ago, Buchholz pitched to a 2.17 ERA, 7.6 K/9, and 2.4 BB/9 in 66.1 innings of relief in 2008 before his elbow gave out. Given the dearth of quality relievers and the fact that Buchholz is under team control for another two seasons, there's a chance someone will roll the dice and place a claim.
i wonder if there’s a broader story here. trading for delcarmen then letting buckholz go for nothing? I don’t get it unless the kid is totally damaged goods.
I feel really bad for Buchholz. I don’t get the reasoning behind Phillips’ callup over Garner with an extra 40 man spot, besides that Chacin’s the most comfortable with him catching. But yeah, Buchholz’s velocity wasn’t back at all, and he never really recovered from the injury. He looked hurt whenever I watched him.
Any relation to Clay?
No relation
Red Sox should sign him to AAA…dont see how it can hurt.
Pirates will probably place a claim on him, as they’ve done with nearly every reliever who’s hit the market. He has a chance to be very good out of the pen next year, he will just need to recover and hopefully still have his stuff. Marlins will kick the tires as well, I don’t really see him going unclaimed.
I would like to see the Phillies take a flier on him. They originally drafted him, and Taylor is from the Philly suburbs. Couldn’t possibly hurt to stash him in AAA and call him up for bullpen help if needed.
I was sad to see him go when the Stros traded him. Jason Jennings – wow! What a bust that was!!