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Aaron Laffey Elects Free Agency

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Southpaw Aaron Laffey has elected free agency in lieu of an outright assignment from the Blue Jays, according to a team press release.  The 28-year-old has been designated for assignment by the Mets and Jays this month, appearing in five big league games.

Laffey, whose 487 career innings rank 37th among those born in Maryland, tossed 100 2/3 Major League innings for Toronto last year while making 16 starts.  He joins a free agent market for starting pitchers that also includes Dallas Braden, Dustin Moseley, Jamie Moyer, Roy Oswalt, Carl Pavano, Randy Wolf, and Carlos Zambrano.

AL Notes: Twins, Gibbons, Reyes, Price, Jackie Bradley

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The Twins have devoted only 22.5% of their 2013 payroll to pitching (MLB average is 49.8%) and haven't exceeded the league average since 2005. Phil Miller of the Star Tribune writes perhaps no statistic better illustrates the Twins' dry spell in developing pitching prospects. "It’s not by design. It’s not like we said, 'Let’s spend less on pitching and go another way,'" said Twins assistant GM Rob Antony. "When we’ve spent a lot on a contract, more often than not, it’s on players we already have, that we know. We know how they fit in the clubhouse, and we know their health situation. It makes you a little more comfortable with the investment." Miller notes several pitching investments have been wasted because of injuries including this year's highest-paid pitcher Nick Blackburn ($5.5MM), who was removed from the 40-man roster as he recovers from wrist surgery. One investment that does seem to be paying dividends is Kevin Correia, who signed a two-year, $10MM free agent contract last December. The right-hander tossed eight shutout innings and lowered his ERA to 2.31 in the Twins' 5-0 win over the Rangers. In other news and notes from the American League:

  • After a four-game sweep at the hands of the Yankees, the seat is becoming hotter for Blue Jays manager John Gibbons. CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman calls this a big test for Gibbons while Keith Law of ESPN.com says it's too early to think about firing the skipper (Twitter links).
  • Before the game, Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos met with the media, including Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca, and said he doesn't expect Jose Reyes back until the beginning of July "just to make sure that we do this correctly and we don’t have any setbacks." In the meantime, the plan is use Munenori Kawasaki and Maicer Izturis because Anthopoulos said the costs of going outside the organization for a Reyes replacement "don’t line up for us with what our alternatives are."
  • Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg reiterated his team's ability to afford David Price in an interview with WFAN (partial transcript provided by the Tampa Bay Times' Marc Topkin). "We can; I don't know if we'll have any team around him other than him and (Evan) Longoria."
  • In the same interview, Sternberg said he expects the Rays' next TV contract to be "big relative to the size of our attendance" but "mid-sized market" compared to other teams.  
  • The Red Sox prefer to give Shane Victorino some time to work out his back issues rather than trying to bring Jackie Bradley back too soon, tweets the Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo. Victorino underwent an MRI yesterday, which revealed inflammation in his lower back. Bradley, meanwhile, is 7-for-31 with 10 strikeouts and five walks since being optioned to Triple-A.

Blue Jays Designate Aaron Laffey For Assignment

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The Blue Jays have designated left-hander Aaron Laffey for assignment, MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm reports (Twitter link).  The Jays will add another pitcher to their roster in Laffey's place.

Laffey is the latest waiver wire pickup to make a brief cameo with Toronto this season.  The southpaw was designated for assignment by the Mets on Sunday, picked up by the Jays on Tuesday and received a spot start tonight for the club against the Yankees in place of the injured Josh Johnson.  Laffey didn't fare well against the Yankees, allowing two runs on two hits and five walks over just 2 2/3 innings.  His short outing may have sealed his fate, as the Jays are in need of a fresh arm to help their overworked bullpen.

Laffey, 28, now has a 6.75 ERA in 12 2/3 IP with the Jays and Mets this season.  He posted a 4.56 ERA over 100 2/3 innings with Toronto in 2012 and has also pitched for the Yankees, Mariners and Indians over his seven-year Major League career. 

AL Notes: Ankiel, Mariners, Twins, Ramirez, Ortiz

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Rick Ankiel could be nearing the end of his well-documented but still-surreal path through baseball, writes Joe Posnanski of NBCSports.com. Evoking the poet Dylan Thomas ("rage, rage against the dying of the light … do not go gentle into that good night"), Posnanski notes that Ankiel's journey has taken one more incredible turn. In 42 plate appearances this season prior to this evening's game, Ankiel posted a remarkable 26:0 strikeout to walk ratio, but was slugging over .600 thanks to his five home runs and two doubles. While long known as a free swinger with contact issues, Ankiel appears to be bringing both those labels to heretofore unseen extremes for the struggling Astros. Elsewhere around the American League:

  • It is time to wonder whether and when the Mariners will start firing people, writes Dave Cameron at U.S.S. Mariner. While Cameron is no fan of manager Eric Wedge, he feels that there is little to be gained from a mid-season firing of the team's skipper. And while the team might be tempted to can GM Jack Zduriencik, that could create major logistical difficulties with the upcoming draft and then trade deadline. Ultimately, says Cameron, Seattle will be hard pressed to avoid reaping what it sowed in a confounding offseason.
  • Twins GM Terry Ryan says it was "just happenstance" that this offseason saw the club acquire a series of groundball-inducing righties (Vance Worley, Mike Pelfrey, and Kevin Correia), Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press reports. Ryan has a background in what Berardino describes as "old-school scouting principles." Nevertheless, the GM says that he does not make any decisions without consulting his statistics guru, Jack Goin, whose official title is manager of major league administration and baseball research.
  • The Angels have outrighted right-handed Elvin Ramirez to Triple-A after the pitcher cleared waivers, writes Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com (via Twitter). Ramirez was acquired from the Mets for cash about a month back. The move means that the club has cleared a spot on its 40-man roster, Gonzalez also notes.
  • After being designated for assignment to make room for Aaron Laffey, pitcher Ramon Ortiz has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A by the Blue Jays, according to the club's Buffalo affiliate (on Twitter). He made one appearance for Toronto this year after spending all of 2012 in the Yankees' system.

AL East Notes: Blue Jays, Red Sox, Crawford

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In this morning's roundup of news out of the American League East, Alex Burnett spoke with Shi Davidi of Sportsnet about the waiver process that ultimately took him from the Blue Jays to the Orioles.  As trying as his brief pit stop with Toronto was, he feels even more for Casper Wells, who took a three game detour with the Blue Jays without playing once.  “It happened pretty quickly for me, guys like Wells were in limbo forever, he hasn’t been able to do anything,” said Burnett. “I think it’s something that should maybe be brought up in the next players’ association meeting. It is a bad situation when it carries on as long as it has for some people.”  Here's more on the Blue Jays and other notes out of the AL East..

  • While the Blue Jays' usage of the waiver wire is starting to attract attention from around baseball, Matt Eddy of Baseball America spoke to one agent who said that he believes GM Alex Anthopoulous is up front with players who may get DFA'd shortly after being claimed.  Agent Matt Sosnick also came to the defense of AA, saying, "I’d be very skeptical of somebody who said that Alex lied or misled them. I have a hard time believing that that’s the case.”
  • It's not just players that aren't thrilled about the way the waiver system can be used, some clubs have lobbied for a rule change that would force teams to keep players claimed on waivers for a set period of time, sources tell Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  However, other clubs don't want to lose flexibility, according to a source, and the union almost certainly would oppose restricting player movement.  Players who get knocked off of from 40-man rosters receive major league pay and service time while designated for assignment.  Rosenthal spoke to Anthopoulos about his frequent waiver claims, and the GM noted that the Jays have lost players as well.  He explained that the Jays' former Triple-A affiliate, the Syracuse Chiefs, aligned with the Nationals in part because Toronto did not provide a winning club.  Now on a two-year contract with Buffalo, Anthopoulos is trying to provide a competitive team.  As Eddy pointed out, however, many of Anthopoulos' waiver claims are with the Double-A club.
  • Carl Crawford is thriving with the Dodgers and the outfielder attributes that in part to being able to leave a tough situation with the Red Sox behind, writes Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com.  The outfielder explained that a number of factors including injuries and self-imposed pressure hounded him in Boston and took offense to the perception that he wasn't working hard enough to get back on track.

AL East Notes: Orioles, Burnett, Arrieta, Ichiro

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The Orioles entered the eighth inning of yesterday's game with a lead and held on to pick up the victory. That might not seem all that noteworthy on the surface, but as MLB.com's Matthew Leach writes, yesterday marked the 100th straight win in games where the Orioles have held a lead through seven innings. Leach examines all the aspects of the Orioles' roster that have led to their improbably success with late inning leads. Here's more on the AL East…

  • Alex Burnett spoke candidly with Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca regarding the waiver process that led him to end up in the Orioles' organization, and he didn't sound happy about his brief stint with the Blue Jays. Burnett said he was "shocked" to be designated for assignment by Toronto and wondered what the point of his claim was. He also adds that he's had to have his car shipped across the country twice, break two leases and send his pregnant wife home because the constant moving would have been too difficult. Burnett said he's thankful that his process has been relatively quick, and he feels bad for Casper Wells, who spent the better part of three weeks in waiver limbo. Burnett hopes that the process will be brought up at the next Players Association meeting. MLBTR's Charlie Wilmoth recently looked at the waiver process in depth.
  • Davidi notes that the silver lining for these players is that they do collect a Major League salary and Major League service time while they are on waivers. 
  • ESPN's Jerry Crasnick spoke with an AL scout regarding Orioles' right-hander Jake Arrieta and was told, "I know 29 teams that would be takers" (Twitter link). Arrieta's raw stuff draws consistent praise despite poor results. He was optioned to Triple-A yesterday.
  • Danny Knobler of CBS Sports also talked to scouts regarding Arrieta, who said that he has "electric stuff." Knobler writes that Arrieta is simply too talented for the Orioles to give up on.
  • Another scout told Andy Martino of the New York Daily News that the Yankees should be very concerned about Ichiro Suzuki: "His timing is all off. He looks terrible." Ichiro signed a two-year, $13MM contract with the Yankees this offseason.

Blue Jays Designate Ramon Ortiz For Assignment

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The Blue Jays have designated Ramon Ortiz for assignment, Sportsnet.ca's Shi Davidi reports (on Twitter). Ortiz's departure makes room on the 25-man roster for waiver claim Aaron Laffey.

Ortiz, 40, appeared in one game for the Jays. That one outing marked Ortiz's first appearance in the big leagues since 2011. Ortiz spent the 2012 season pitching for the Yankees' Triple-A affiliate in Scranton. In 12 seasons in the big leagues, Ortiz has a 4.93 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 while pitching for the Angels, Reds, Nationals, Twins, Rockies, Dodgers, Cubs and Jays.

AL Notes: Gardenhire, Blue Jays, Wells

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Ron Gardenhire is in the last year of his contract and the Twins have lost 99 and 96 games the last two seasons, but don't expect him to be dismissed anytime soon, says Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports. "I expect Ron to be on this job for a long time," says Twins GM Terry Ryan. "I don't consider it lame duck at all." Here are more notes from the American League.

  • Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos says he has been so active on the waiver wire because he wants the Jays to field a good team in Triple-A Buffalo, Tyler Kepner of the New York Times writes (on Twitter). Earlier today, the Jays claimed pitcher Aaron Laffey, marking the Jays' 21st waiver claim since mid-October, as Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star noted earlier today (also on Twitter).
  • Outfielder Casper Wells will be rusty as he tries to get his season started with the Athletics, John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group writes. The Mariners designated Wells for assignment near the beginning of the season. The Blue Jays claimed him, but he never played a game for them, and then they too designated him for assignment. That left Wells in limbo for several more days until the Jays traded him to Oakland. At that time, Hickey notes, Wells hadn't played a game in almost a month, and he hadn't faced live pitching since taking batting practice with Toronto. "The rules hurt guys like me in this position, not seeing live pitching," says Wells. "It’d be nice to stay fresh. But I haven’t had any real at-bats in a month. I’ve done all that I could with that situation." Wells entered with the A's up 13-0 in Tuesday night's game against the Red Sox, and flied out. MLBTR wrote this weekend about how MLB's waiver claim rules hurt players like Wells.

Blue Jays Claim Aaron Laffey

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The waiver claim kings have struck again.  The Blue Jays announced today they've claimed lefty Aaron Laffey off waivers from the Mets, transferring shortstop Jose Reyes to the 60-day DL.  Laffey had been designated for assignment by the Mets on Sunday.

Laffey tossed 100 2/3 big league innings for the 2012 Jays, but lose his 40-man roster spot in October and later joined the Mets on a minor league deal.  The 28-year-old made four appearances for the Mets this year.

The Blue Jays have been the most active team on the waiver wire, as recently pointed out by our own Steve Adams.  MLBTR's Charlie Wilmoth recently asked if excessive adds and drops this season should lead baseball to reevaluate the way that the waiver system works.

Athletics Acquire Casper Wells

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The Blue Jays have traded outfielder Casper Wells to the Athletics in exchange for cash considerations, according to a team press release. The A's transferred Scott Sizemore to the 60-day disabled list in order to create room on the 40-man roster. Wells is out of options and cannot be sent to the minor leagues, so an additional 25-man roster move will have to be made by the A's.

The Blue Jays claimed Wells, 28, off waivers from the Mariners after he was designated for assignment at the end of Spring Training. Wells didn't appear in a single game at any level for the Jays, however, as he was DFA'ed by Toronto just five days after being claimed.

Wells is capable of playing all three outfield positions and has posted a strong .264/.349/.489 batting line versus left-handed pitching in his career. Last night, MLBTR's Charlie Wilmoth highlighted Wells as an example of players being left in limbo by the waiver process as he wondered whether or not the waiver system needs to be updated.

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