The Twins announced today on Twitter that they've designated lefty reliever Chuck James for assignment to create a 40-man roster spot for Australia native Liam Hendriks.
James, 29, posted a 2.30 ERA, 9.6 K/9, 3.9 BB/9, and 0.6 HR/9 in 62 2/3 minor league innings, but was ineffective in 10 1/3 big league frames. James won 11 games in 119 innings for the '06 Braves, but he had rotator cuff surgery in September of '08 and was subsequently cut loose.
One major league source told Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe that a lot of lefty relievers were blocked by teams and never got through waivers in August. The price tag on most of them was steep so most teams bit the bullet and decided to go with what they had. The Giants were one of those clubs as GM Brian Sabean opted to stick with Javy Lopez and Jeremy Affeldt. Here are some other highlights from Cafardo's column..
Torii Hunter is thinking about retiring once his contract is up after the 2012 season. In an interview with Jim Souhan of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the Angels outfielder says there is about a 40% chance that next season will be his last.
'I am going to retire an Angel," he said. ''Next year is my last year, and I'm going to retire an Angel. I'm going to evaluate it this offseason. That's when I'll know. It's 60-40, to the positive, that I'll keep playing."
Hunter has a .261/.332/.423 line for Los Angeles this year and was hampered in the early part of the season by a quad injury. Since getting back to better health, however, Hunter has been on fire, posting a 1.013 OPS in 118 plate appearances since August 2. Hunter will be 37 at the end of the 2012 campaign and told Souhan that he doesn't want to keep playing just for the sake of playing: "You don't want to see your skills diminish. You don't want to linger."
If Hunter did decide to return for 2013, he would give the Angels "first dibs" on bringing him back but also noted that he would enjoy returning to Minnesota, where he spent the first 11 seasons of his career. This isn't the first time Hunter has talked of rejoining the Twins, but a return could be difficult given Hunter's feelings about Twins GM Bill Smith, who he describes as having "no heart, no compassion, no nothing."
Hunter said he would have re-signed with Minnesota as a free agent after the 2007 season had the club offered him a four or five-year deal, but Smith's largest offer was for three years. Hunter believes Smith's offer was just a token effort and thinks the Twins are making a similarly half-hearted attempt to re-sign Michael Cuddyer, who is a free agent after this season and was reportedly offered a two-year, $16MM contract by the club earlier this month.
"Cuddyer is going to make less, as a free agent?" Hunter said. "I told him before, 'They'll make an offer and people will say, 'You turned down the money, you could have stayed, you're money-hungry.' "
Troy Renck of the Denver Post took some time to answer questions from his followers on Twitter just now. Renck touches on a lot of offseason topics for the Rox, so let's take a look (all links to Renck's Twitter):
August transactions don't boast the same excitement as their July counterparts, but they can still have ramifications for contenders and non-contenders alike. Teams readying for the postseason will often fine-tune their rosters by adding a specialty piece — a LOOGY or power bat off the bench, for example — and ones looking ahead to next year will look to shed payroll.
There's still a few days left before September arrives, and prominent players such as the Rays' B.J. Upton was claimed as recently as Friday. But in the meanwhile, here's a look back at some of the bigger names who were on the move — whether by trade or waiver claim — in August 2010, and the subsequent fallout (for the complete list, check out MLBTR's Transaction Tracker):
Let's take a look at the latest edition of Full Count from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports..
Hurricane Irene has resulted in the cancellation of five Saturday games, but we still have plenty of news for your to pore over..
Let's take a look at some links as the northeast prepares for Hurricane Irene..
FRIDAY, 7:31pm: The Indians were awarded the claim on Kubel, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.com (via Twitter). However, the 48 hour window for the two sides to work out a deal has passed.
3:44pm: The White Sox did not actually claim Kubel, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter).
THURSDAY: The Indians were awarded the claim on Thome, while the White Sox were awarded the claim on Kubel, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports. Thome has a full-no trade clause and would prefer to play for the Phillies, according to Rosenthal. It's unlikely that the Twins will move Kubel, Rosenthal reports. The sides have discussed a possible extension.
WEDNESDAY: The Twins' Jim Thome and Jason Kubel have been claimed on waivers , tweets ESPN's Buster Olney. The teams involved now have 48 hours to make a deal.
We learned earlier that the White Sox were one of the teams to place a claim on Thome. Olney has spoken to executives who expected the White Sox, Indians, Rangers, or Yankees to win a claim on Kubel.
If multiple teams make a claim on one player, the team with the worst record in the same league is awarded the claim.
Jim Thome once helped the Indians reach six playoff berths in seven years. Now, after a nine-year absence from Cleveland, Thome is back and the Indians are hoping their all-time home run leader can help them pass the Tigers in the standings and reach the playoffs once again.
“Jim Thome is a Hall of Fame-caliber player and person. He has meant so much to this organization – both on and off the field – and it is an honor to bring him back in an Indians uniform where he created so many great memories," GM Chris Antonetti said in a statement. "Having his bat and presence in the middle of the lineup certainly improves our team"
Thome, the newest member of MLB's 600 homer club, accepted a deal to the Indians last night. The Indians announced that they'll send a player to be named later to the Twins on or before October 15th.
The veteran, who turns 41 in two days, had the right to reject any deal as he holds a no-trade clause. Reportedly, Thome's preference was to return to Philadelphia where he played from 2003 through 2005.
Thome's homecoming is much more than a feel good story for the Tribe. He's sure to see a lot of time at the DH spot with Travis Hafner on the disabled list and possibly out for the year.
Thome (pictured) is the Indians' all-time leader in home runs (334) and walks (997) and he is among the franchise's all-time leaders in RBI (2nd, 927), extra base hits (3rd, 613), on-base percentage (3rd, .414) and slugging percentage (3rd, .567).
Nick Camino of WTAM 110, Buster Olney of ESPN.com, Scott Miller of CBSSports.com and Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reported on the move last night. Photo courtesy Icon SMI. Ben Nicholson-Smith contributed to this post.
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