Report: Rockies’ Hawpe clears waivers
Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com reports via Twitter that Colorado Rockies outfielder Brad Hawpe has cleared waivers. If true, the Rockies can now trade Hawpe to any team.
The Rockies will need to make a move in the next few days to add a pitcher to the bullpen, which is short one reliever after Taylor Buchholz was placed on the disabled list Monday. Left-handed relievers Matt Reynolds and Franklin Morales — both currently pitching at Triple-A Colorado Springs — are likely candidates to join the bullpen. Aaron Cook will be eligible to return from the disabled list later this week and could join the bullpen or rejoin the Rockies rotation if healthy.
Hawpe appears likely to be the odd man out when the Rockies make way for another reliever. The Rockies continue to look at the combo of Eric Young Jr. and Dexter Fowler in the top two spots in the batting order. Either player could be optioned to make room for a reliever, but the pair was responsible for nearly all the Rockies offense in their 6-o loss Tuesday to the Los Angeles Dodgers, accounting for six of the team’s 10 baserunners in the game. The Rockies also could try to trade Clint Barmes or Jason Giambi, but neither player is known to have cleared waivers to date.
any chance we can trade him for the foul ball girl?
Ouch – 14 months removed from the All Star game …humbling
Brad’s gonna be missed. Best wishes to him.
Lessons learned:
1. Being a “great guy in the clubhouse” doesn’t translate into more wins.
2. Sell high, not low.
3. There is no trade market for .800 OPS poor fielding rightfielders, or for .800 OPS, average fielding first basemen.
I like Hawpe, and I’m sure he’s trying his best. But it should have been evident to everyone in the Rockies front office by August of last year that he was, at best, the 4th best outfielder on this club.
Off topic, but is there a worse catcher in baseball at blocking balls in the dirt than Miguel Olivo?
Not off topic for me right now, I know it’s rare if ever, but please put Iannetta in as defensive replacement in the next inning. This is atrocious catching. Of course he has the only rbi tonight so that’s ok right? NOOOOO! Sorry for rant, but when writing is on the wall and season has been on the line, little things like this are noticed by everyone. So get it together.
Ok I will calm down he threw out Theriot and earlier chased down Carroll and now has driven in second run after a tough foul off. Not questioning his toughness at all but wish he would utilize more behind plate and block the ball.
Renck tweeted that hawpe will be released after tonight’s game
Doesn’t tonight’s game feel like a late September game between two teams that know they’re out of contention? Joe Torre: hey, let’s try a suicide squeeze with a 3-2 count on the batter and one out!
Jim Tracy: let’s dust off Seth Smith and let him hit 5th in the lineup even though he’s hardly played all month!
Manny out. Kemp in the doghouse and on the bench. Hey, maybe Jay Gibbons (a guy who even in his best steroid-fueled years was a below average corner outfielder) can do better! Joe Torre and Larry Bowa telling us that Jamey Carroll is their MVP. Miguel Olivo matador-ing balls right into the backstop.
Oops, and the CarGo playing like it still matters …
So why would the club release Hawpe now? I imagine he’d be signed by some other club pretty quickly, but that would be for the MLB minimum, with the Rockies on the hook for the approx. $1.3 million he’s still due for the rest of the year. Would that be to try to dump the buyout on his 2011 option on some other team? If the Rockies have dreams of putting together a win streak and getting back into this thing (dreams of 2007), then dumping Hawpe now for nothing — not even significant salary savings — makes no sense. If you need a roster spot, there’s a guy named Barmes who apparently isn’t going to play anymore this year, and a guy named Mora who really shouldn’t play anymore this year.
So is this throwing in the towel? If so, it’s kind of a half-a.. (uhh, half-baked that is) way of doing it. I’m all for being realistic, but if you’re throwing in the towel you’ve gotta throw it all the way in. That means moving a guy with actual value (who’s a free agent after this year) like De La Rosa. That means bringing up Chris Nelson and dumping Barmes, who almost certainly will be gone next year. That means also trying to move Giambi, Beimel, Flores, and giving Matt Reynolds a chance now. It doesn’t mean doing what they’re doing.