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Lee Pelekoudas

Odds & Ends: Diamond, Penny, Pelekoudas

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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.

Bonser Not Discussed In Washburn Talks

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8:42pm: Hold the phone – John Hickey says Bonser’s name never came up in the Washburn talks.  Jim Street and Larry Stone agree.  The criticism of the Mariners may be somewhat unjustified.  Hickey says Nick Blackburn was on the table for a very brief period of time.  Lee Pelekoudas was tight-lipped on the topic.

4:52pm: Even Washburn can’t believe the Mariners wouldn’t trade him for Bonser.  He’s disappointed the trade didn’t go through.  Perhaps a new GM will deal him this winter.

FRIDAY, 12:19pm: Joe Christensen has details on the Twins’ uncharacteristic claim of Washburn.  He heard they offered the Mariners Boof Bonser (plus apparently the salary relief), but the Ms wanted someone like Nick Blackburn or Kevin Slowey.  It is hard to see this as anything but a blunder for the Mariners’ front office. 

On a related note, Scott Miller says Lee Pelekoudas will not become the Mariners’ permanent GM, while Jon Heyman says Kevin Towers is unlikely.  Pat Gillick is still rumored as a possibility for the next team president.

THURSDAY

11:48pm: Baker says the Twins put in claims on both Washburn and Ibanez, but only won the Washburn one.  With Washburn, the Twins would’ve put him in the rotation and moved a starter to the setup man role.  Baker notes that a deal still could happen.

4:58pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman says the Twins won the Washburn claim and the Tigers won the Ibanez claim.  The Red Sox and Mets also put in claims on Ibanez.  Interesting on both fronts, but no deals were struck so both players will remain with the Mariners. 

Heyman says that while the Twins’ Washburn claim had the flavor of a blocking move, the two teams did have trade discussions.  There wasn’t really anyone to block, unless the White Sox were lying about their lack of interest.

4:56pm: The Cardinals did not put in a claim on Washburn, according to Derrick Goold.

3:00pm: Geoff Baker expects that the Mariners will hold onto Ibanez, given the compensatory picks they’ll receive this winter. He further speculates that Washburn’s next start will not be for Seattle.

10:54am: The Twins didn’t win the claim on Ibanez, according to Joe Christensen.  Ibanez doesn’t expect a trade, though the Mariners have not discussed an extension with him.

9:57am: Geoff Baker confirms both players have been informed they’ve been placed on waivers.  He sees the Jays, Red Sox, and Rays as possible AL claimants for Ibanez.  Buster Olney considers the Twins a possibility as well.  There seems little chance Ibanez would slip to the NL.  Baker and Olney also heard an unconfirmed rumor that the Cardinals claimed Washburn.

WEDNESDAY

According to Ken Rosenthal, Mariners players Jarrod Washburn and Raul Ibanez were claimed on waivers yesterday.  The Ms have until tomorrow afternoon to work out a deal with the claiming teams.  Rosenthal says the Yankees did not claim Washburn.

At the least, the Mariners have a chance to unload Washburn’s contract.  Ibanez is inexpensive, so they’ll want quality prospects in return.  The Mariners can also elect to keep both players if they don’t like the offers.

The American League received first crack at the two Mariners, in the following order (omitting non-contenders):

  1. Tigers
  2. Rangers
  3. Blue Jays
  4. Yankees
  5. Twins
  6. White Sox
  7. Red Sox
  8. Rays
  9. Angels

Bill Bavasi Fired

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4:30pm: Darrin Beene chronicled all of Bavasi’s transactions – check it out here.

2:10pm: The Mariners fired Bill Bavasi today.  According to the press release, "Vice President/Associate General Manager Lee Pelekoudas will take over as the interim General Manager."  Pelekoudas will be a candidate in the team’s permanent GM search.

I’m not going to list off Bavasi’s mistakes here; we all know he did a poor job.  Looking forward, you have to wonder if Pelekoudas will be more willing to trade Erik Bedard than Bavasi would’ve been.  He could also move quickly to release Richie Sexson.  Geoff Baker believes a housecleaning is much more likely now.

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