Thome, Kubel claimed on waivers; Perkins, Liriano, Slowey, Nathan placed on waivers

by jacobglanz on Aug 24, 2011 4:39 PM EDT

Update: According to Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com, The Indians have won the claim on Jim Thome, while the White Sox have won the claim on Jason Kubel. He also notes that Thome would rather would play for Philadelphia, and that a deal is not likely to get done between the Twins and White Sox.

Jim Thome and Jason Kubel may not be in the Land of 10,000 lakes for much longer. According to Buster Olney on Twitter, Jim Thome and Jason Kubel have been claimed on waivers. And as of now, the claiming teams are unknown, but the White Sox and Indians are known to have interest in Thome. And according to Danny Knobler on Twitter, Glen Perkins, Francisco Liriano, Kevin Slowey and Joe Nathan were placed on waivers yesterday.

Tweet Comment 32 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

If Thome is claimed by the White Sox

Then the Twins should keep him.

Joe Nathan could be an interesting waiver claim. Maybe the Giants would put in a claim?

by DJL44 on Aug 24, 2011 5:15 PM EDT reply actions

Giants just claimed Bell

So, not likely.

by spanspanspan on Aug 24, 2011 5:17 PM EDT up reply actions

There probably won't be a deal made for Bell

Obviously the Giants are looking for relief pitching.

by DJL44 on Aug 24, 2011 5:50 PM EDT up reply actions

I would be very surprised if Thome got past the White Sox.

I believe the White Sox were 4th in the waiver line behind the Royals, Mariners, and A’s. They need a power lefty bat after Dunn suddenly stopped being able to hit Major League pitching, and Thome has history there. On top of that, they probably want to keep him from going back to Cleveland.

FIRE DAN EDWARDS!!!

by Flip27 on Aug 24, 2011 7:35 PM EDT up reply actions

Need a power lefty bat for what?

They’re as done as the Twins. Didn’t anyone tell them yet? 6 back with 35 to go.

by DJL44 on Aug 24, 2011 11:21 PM EDT up reply actions

So are the Indians

And I think I saw that they were confirmed to make a claim.

by archie2227 on Aug 24, 2011 11:26 PM EDT up reply actions

There is sentimental value for Thome and the Indians

Getting Thome back to say goodbye will put some butts in the seats.

by DJL44 on Aug 25, 2011 10:08 AM EDT up reply actions

If leading the AL Central (for awhile) didn't do it.

Bringing Jimmers back won’t either. They’ve booed him every time he’s played there.

"Don't take life for granted, because tomorrow isn't promised to any one of us." -Kirby Puckett
あなたが深淵に長い間熟視場合、深淵はあなたにも眼差し。 -Nishi

by less cowbell, more 'neau on Aug 25, 2011 12:17 PM EDT up reply actions

Twins & Cleveland talking trade

According to Olney http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2011/08/indians-twins-in-trade-talks-for-thome-kubel.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

I know little about Cleveland’s prospects, but a cursory peek at their MiLB pages shows they have a nice catcher in AA, Chun-Hsiu Chen, that would be a nice return.

by QtrFinn on Aug 25, 2011 1:32 PM EDT up reply actions

What I don't get...

is how a team like the Orioles or Royals even lets Kubel/Thome slip by them. Those guys are worth it for the FA status/draft picks alone (in Thome’s case, if he plays next year, that is). Just like Toronto worked the system last year. You’re buying 1-2 picks of value at $3-5M each for the cost of something like $1M (or less than that) for the rest of the season.

by DJSkillz on Aug 24, 2011 6:11 PM EDT reply actions

Because we're not going to let them go for less than the draft picks are worth

So if they claim and don’t offer us enough, we’ll just keep them. The exception is salary dumps, which I don’t think these are (Thome and Kubel at least).

by spanspanspan on Aug 24, 2011 6:15 PM EDT up reply actions

you'd think that...

but:

1) This is the Twins; not exactly proven to be good in dealing/understanding value of late.
2) Why not take the shot? It costs you nothing.

by DJSkillz on Aug 24, 2011 6:25 PM EDT up reply actions

Because if the Twins don't pull the player off waivers

The other team gets stuck with him and his salary whether they want him or not.

by spanspanspan on Aug 24, 2011 6:33 PM EDT up reply actions

Umm, kind of my point..

Any team should WANT Kubel and Thome at this point for the potential draft pick compensation alone.

Thome is the highest ranked player below Type B status right now; with a decent month, or passing just 1 of the guys above him, he merits a compensation pick after this season if he decides to play again. And obviously if he did, he wouldn’t sign with a bottom feeder like Baltimore or KC.

Kubel is the highest ranked Type B in the AL right now, and has a good chance at Type A status. He’s fully worth signing to a 1-year arbitration offer if he accepted (which he won’t). And if he declines (likely) he’ll merit at least 1 pick, possibly 2, and will be very marketable to teams still because of his age/talent on the market among OF’s.

Any team should take Kubel/Thome on essentially 1-month/$1M deals just for the potential draft pick compensation. And by the same token, the Twins are stupid if they don’t get at least the value of Type B/Type A compensation in each case. Only caveat to that is if they KNOW that Thome is retiring after this year.

by DJSkillz on Aug 24, 2011 6:46 PM EDT up reply actions

Right

I was kind of replying more generally (why don’t low standing teams always claim guys on waivers…) but in hindsight I see that isn’t what you said.

I agree, for the value it seems odd not to do it. I guess there’s the risk they accept arbitration, though. Of course the Twins have that risk too if they pull the players off waivers.

by spanspanspan on Aug 24, 2011 7:10 PM EDT up reply actions

right, but in both of these cases, that's not a real risk...

Thome; if he comes back next year, no way he accepts and signs with the O’s or KC. He’ll sign with a contender.

Kubel; no way he accepts a 1 year offer with the multi-year offers he’ll get on the market. and even if he did, even if you’re a team like KC/BAL, that’s not a bad thing at all.

by DJSkillz on Aug 24, 2011 10:45 PM EDT up reply actions

Thome is 41 and his swan song season was last year. He's pretty damn likely to retire.

by bl4ckduck on Aug 25, 2011 9:40 PM EDT up reply actions

Placing on waivers =/= dumping players.

Just because players are placed on waivers doesn’t mean they’re going anywhere. If a player is claimed off waivers in August, the Twins have 24 hours to work out a trade, pull back the player, or let the team have him outright. That right to pull someone back is key.

The Twins are probably just testing the trade waters here with some of their players to see what they can fetch (Liriano, Perkins). Others might actually be more earnest attempts to trade someone away (Slowey). It’s possible that Bill Smith is just wanting to see if any team offers him the farm for someone.

All this really means is that the Twins would be willing to trade these players for the right price. -Something that any GM should be open to most of the time anyway.

FIRE DAN EDWARDS!!!

by Flip27 on Aug 24, 2011 7:44 PM EDT reply actions

48, but yeah

by archie2227 on Aug 24, 2011 11:27 PM EDT up reply actions

Nathan

Nathan will clear waivers

by Emma2011 on Aug 24, 2011 10:09 PM EDT reply actions

I wouldn't be so sure...

a team needing bullpen help, like the Giants for instance, could easily absorb the $2M or so left on his contract this year.

by DJSkillz on Aug 24, 2011 10:46 PM EDT up reply actions

But would they want the extra 2.5 for his buyout?

Follow me, mmk?

Fudgesicle Fudgesicle Fudgesicle

by John_Locke on Aug 24, 2011 11:08 PM EDT up reply actions

If they think they're still contending

And they think they can’t make a trade for Bell, yes. And does the option even carry over? Sometimes options go away if a player is traded (not sure on the details for this one).

Also, would be ironic considering the Giants were the losers on the A.J. trade.

by spanspanspan on Aug 24, 2011 11:13 PM EDT up reply actions

I think the option would carry over...

but I also could see Nathan agreeing to drop the option as part of the trade. And let’s remember, he started his career with the Giants.

by DJSkillz on Aug 24, 2011 11:44 PM EDT up reply actions

Why in the world would Nathan agree to that?

He’s got to move in the middle of the season, and he’ll be so pleased to do it that he’ll give away two and a half million dollars? Are they going to have him buy everyone in the front office a pony, too?

"There are only two things that are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein

by BeefMaster on Aug 25, 2011 11:33 AM EDT up reply actions

he might do it for the chance to pitch in a world series.

by DJSkillz on Aug 25, 2011 12:09 PM EDT up reply actions

He can sign with anyone he wants in the offseason

Yeah, he’s old, but he’ll get significant interest in the offseason, so I don’t see why there’s two and a half million dollars’ worth of urgency there.

"There are only two things that are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein

by BeefMaster on Aug 25, 2011 3:02 PM EDT up reply actions