Odds & Ends: Diamond, Penny, Pelekoudas

Links for Tuesday...

• Chat today, 2pm CST.
• The Rangers designated pitcher Thomas Diamond for assignment, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.  Diamond was the 10th overall pick in the 2004 draft.  He was considered the #52 prospect in the game by Baseball America in '05, but he had Tommy John surgery in '07 and dealt with shoulder soreness this year.
• ESPN's Buster Olney says the Angels were in on Brad Penny, with a bullpen role in mind.
• Stephen Strasburg has a few things to learn about dealing with media attention, says John Feinstein of the Washington Post.
• Mariners Associate GM Lee Pelekoudas has resigned to pursue other career opportunities, according to a team press release.  Pelekoudas was the Ms' interim GM before Jack Zduriencik was hired.  He spent 30 years in the organization. 
• USA Today's Paul White writes about the stigma of a college degree for ballplayers.
• Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star suggests newly-extended GM Dayton Moore, and not the Glass family, is accountable for the Royals' future performance.
• Reliever Luis Ayala, recently designated for assignment by the Marlins after pitching badly, was upset by the team's "lack of respect" (Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reporting).  Ayala earned $1.3MM for his 5.63 ERA this year in 40 innings.

Marlins DFA Luis Ayala

Juan C. Rodriguez of The Sun Sentinel tweets that the Marlins have designated reliever Luis Ayala for assignment to make room on the roster for Cameron Maybin. Ayala had a bloated 11.74 ERA in 10 appearances for the Marlins, but a much more tolerable 4.18 ERA in 32.1 IP for the Twins earlier in the year.

Marlins To Sign Luis Ayala

According to John C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the Marlins have agreed to terms with Luis Ayala.

That didn't take long.  Ayala was designated for assignment on June 23 and released this afternoon by the Twins.  The 31-year-old right-hander allowed eight walks and 38 hits (including four home runs) in just over 32 innings with Minnesota.  He'll spend a few outings at Triple-A New Orleans before joining the Fish.

Twins Release Luis Ayala

The Twins released Luis Ayala after failing to trade him, according to La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. He was designated for assignment after struggling on the mound and failing to get along with manager Ron Gardenhire.

Marlins Considering Bullpen Options

The Miami Herald reports that the Marlins are considering George Sherrill and Luis Ayala as they look to improve an injury-depleted bullpen. There's also confirmation of Jon Heyman's weekend report that the Marlins discussed Joakim Soria and Heath Bell.

Olney On A-Rod, Marlins, DeRosa

ESPN.com's Buster Olney says Alex Rodriguez will never be as marketable as he once was, but the Yankees would settle for a return to his standard high level of play. A-Rod's not impressing scouts anymore, but all the Yankees can do is keep playing him and hope he returns to form. After all, he has eight years on his contract after this one. Here are the rest of Olney's rumors:

• Olney confirms what we heard earlier today: the Marlins are looking for a proven reliever. Olney says Danys Baez could work, as well as LaTroy Hawkins and Luis Ayala.
• The Marlins have been considering Mark DeRosa, but they could stay internal at third base and play Emilio Bonifacio and Gaby Sanchez.
• Executives expect DeRosa to go to whoever offers the best young pitching, something teams are increasingly unwilling to part with.
• Executives considered the Reds' starting pitching depth possible trade bait, but until Edinson Volquez returns, Cincinnati doesn't have as many pitchers as expected.

Odds And Ends: Belliard, Atkins, Ayala

Some links to peruse as we await the baseball equivalent of the Shaq trade...

• MLB.com's Bill Ladson reports that Ronnie Belliard isn't sure if he'll play another season. 
• Mark DeRosa tops the list of infielders most likely to be traded, if you ask Matthew Pouliot of NBC Sports.
• Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post says the Rockies shouldn't deal anyone but Garrett Atkins.
• Huston Street believes getting traded led to a "good opportunity," according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.
• ESPN.com's Rob Neyer says Luis Ayala is far from irreplaceable.
• I'll be talking rumors on the TEAM 1380 in St. Louis at around 6:20 CST tonight, so tune in if you get the chance.

Pirates Interested In Luis Ayala

9:28pm: John Perrotto has another article up, saying the Pirates are only interested in Ayala at a "greatly reduced cost," i.e. the "vast majority" of the $700k still owed to him would need to be picked up by the Twins.

8:22am: The Pirates are interested in trading for reliever Luis Ayala, according to Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. John Perrotto of PiratesReport.com confirms the Pirates' interest in the 31-year-old righty, who was designated for assignment by the Twins on Monday. 

Odds & Ends: Mariners, Phillies, Padres

Serving up absolutely the most hyper of links from across the baseball sphere, with more to come:

• Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik sat down for a lengthy Q&A with fans on MLB.com. Ever wanted to know what it's like to be a GM? "It's cool," says Zduriencik.
• David Murphy at the Philadelphia Inquirer talked to Phillies GM Ruben Amaro, who echoes a belief around the league: “I think things will heat up late, because everybody is still kind of in it,” he said.
• According to Jorge Arangure at ESPN the Magazine, the Padres are keeping tabs on Dominican OF Jose Alberto Peña and pitcher Cristopher Cabrera.
• Paul DePodesta says the Padres have come to terms with their third, fifth and seventh round picks.
• Juan C. Rodriguez at the Sun-Sentinel wonders if the Marlins should go after Luis Ayala now that Matt Lindstrom has hit the DL.
• Eric Seidman at Fangraphs takes a nifty look at batting average on ground balls. David Wright currently leads the majors with a .471 average in that department.
• Geoff Baker at the Seattle Times discusses the ramifications of potential trade piece Adrian Beltre's recent bout with bone spurs.

Twins DFA Luis Ayala

TUESDAY, 8:34pm: According to MLB.com's Kelly Thesier, Ayala requested a trade from the Twins three weeks ago.

"He asked for this, and when you ask out of here, you will get out of here," said manager Ron Gardenhire.  "It's simple."  The right-hander apparently wanted a setup role, but "wasn't pitching well enough to be an eighth-inning guy," according to Gardenhire, the Twins' ultimate decision-maker.

MONDAY, 4:22pm:  ESPN relays an AP report that says the Twins designated reliever Luis Ayala for assignment to make room for right-hander Bobby Keppel.

Ayala signed with Minnesota for $1.3MM this winter, but he didn't pitch as well as the Twins had hoped. He allowed eight walks and 38 hits in just over 32 innings, striking out 21. He allowed four home runs this season, most recently to Lance Berkman on Saturday during the Astros' come-from-behind win.