The corresponding roster move
The Orioles have designated reliever Dennis Sarfate for assignment, a move made to create room on the 40-man roster for third baseman Miguel Tejada, who signed a one-year, $6 million contract yesterday after passing his physical.
The club is expected to make the announcement later today, but Sarfate's agent already has informed him of the move.
Sarfate was 0-1 with a 5.09 ERA in 20 appearances last season. He spent almost four months on the disabled list with a circulatory condition in his right hand, though he probably could have returned sooner if the Orioles didn't wait until rosters expanded in September.
Sarfate's velocity took a noticeable dip, but he reportedly was hitting 97 mph with his fastball in the Mexican Winter League.
The Orioles are heavy in right-handed relievers and Sarfate is out of minor league options, so his roster spot has been in jeopardy since summer turned to fall. He could remain in the organization if he passes through waivers, but pitchers who throw in the upper 90s usually get claimed.
Coincidentally, Sarfate came to the Orioles in the Dec. 12, 2007 trade that sent Tejada to the Astros.
I understand that Sarfate would have difficulty making the Opening Day roster, but Armando Gabino will have to show me why he deserves a spot on the 40-man roster. And the Orioles' desire to sign one or two left-handed relievers before spring training indicates that Alberto Castillo doesn't fit into their immediate plans.
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Categories (click for archive)Roch Kubatko | Roch Kubatko Orioles |
I understand your point Roch. However, in the grand scheme of things it doesnt really matter. Sarfate was pretty useless as well.
Ironic that we got Sarfate for Tejada.
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I wasn't sure if it was irony or coincidence, so I wasn't taking any chances this time. I went with coincidence. - Alanis Morissette
Dennis Sarfate..gone...wow..I thought he would survive....especially since he seems healthy and throwing that hard...that is why you cna not ever figure out what is next in the mind of AM.....maybe Gambino is that good in their mind....but again if the O's sign Ohlman to a minor deal he will be not on the 40 man but if they sign Hendrickson then another player has to go and that may be Castillo...by the beginning of ST it will all be worked out.
Completely agree Roch
While Sarfate might not pan out, his ceiling had to be higher than two street free agents that have bounced around for years.
"...but Armando Gabino will have to show me why he deserves a spot on the 40-man roster."
-Or Pedro Florimon, Jr.
I think this is going to be a big mistake.
I wish Sarfate the best of luck but I really never liked him as a pitcher. He didn't have a lot of control. He was like D-Cab out of the pen. Hopefully he gets it together somewhere else but I have my doubts. I think losing a pitcher with poor control for Miguel Tejada is worthwhile. Hopefully he can play the corner and still do some contact damage at the plate.
any word on the apparent offer the O's gave to Will Ohman? And of you were to guess, what other relievers the O's are looking at besides Hendrickson?
Thanks
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Don't know. Maybe Beimel. There are a few lefties on the market. - Roch
Interesting, I would think that there are better choices then Sarfate to designate for assignment to clear the spot. What do I know though!!
Roch, How hard is it to type "third baseman" Miguel Tejada?
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It slows me down every single time. - Roch
Well obviously the Astros should claim him to ease their pain on the original trade. You have to wonder why the O's aren't sold on him compared to others. Health? Attitude? Maybe they're just tired of guys that throw instead of pitch.
Roch,
Speaking of the Dec. 12 2007 trade that sent Tejada packing, where is Troy Patton? Do the O's view him (when healthy) as a starter or a reliever? And do you possess any knowledge as to whether this guy is 100%?
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He was at FanFest and he'll be at spring training. For now, he's a starter. - Roch
I have no problem with the move if David H and Jake A are in the BP. Dennis' health problems may return. Koji is another health issue which may arise.
exactly. I cant believe we got rid of Sarfate instead of Gabino. if memory serves me didnt we rough him up in his debut last year???. Sarfate is gonna be 29 but he throws in the mid to upper 90s and still has more value than the likes of Gabino and Castillo. i would add Koji to that list but i know theres no way we would straight cut him and eat the rest of the 5 mill or so left on his deal. A little confused by this move
It's too bad. Sarfate said at Fanfest that he was he the best shape he's been in two years, and was totally past the hand issue. I guess the O's like Gabino's minor league stats.
So how does this work then? I am sure you have explained it thoroughly before but my brain cells don't store and retrieve data as well as they used to. Does he go through the waiver process, or can the Orioles first try to work out a trade with any team they want?
Let's assume no team jumps up and says "Hey, we'll take him, let's talk about what you want in return." So the Orioles put him on waivers, and then the Nats decide maybe they can fix him by changing where he stands on the rubber. Can the Orioles try to work out a trade at that point, or is he gone for the waiver price? This is probably a little different from running guys through waivers in August, since they can't just pull him back - they have to do something with him.
In the unlikely chance that he clears waivers, can the Orioles outright him to Norfolk, and he has to take it like a man?
As you note, there's always someone willing to take a flyer on a hard thrower, so maybe that was the Orioles' plan, that they would be able to work out a trade and get some kind of lower level prospect in exchange for a guy who was surplus for the organization at this point.
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The Orioles have 10 days to work out a trade. Otherwise, they can release him or outright him to Triple-A. - Roch
Roch, I hope Sarfate passes through waivers so we can get him signed to a minor league deal and place him in AAA. But I bet somebody will claim him asap. Watch it be the Yanks or Boston, wouldn't that just pleasant.
Wow. I guess we are really changing up the bullpen. That's a tough call to let him go. I highly doubt he clears waivers. He may be claimed before I even post this.
Best wishes to you Dennis.
I'm still perplexed as to why Pedro Florimon is on the 40-man roster. Further cuts are going to be needed in the coming months (signings, Moeller, etc) and he just doesnt seem to fit.
Awe man. I was hoping it wouldn't be sarfate... I was hearing positive things from his Mexico league pitching. His cutter pitch seemed to be getting outs and his 97 mph fastball would be nice to have. I don't want to come off as rude but Albers shouldve been the designated player in my opinion. Oh well maybe we can get him back? I'm hoping bedard will be signed (probably unlikely though) and we sure up the bullpen with ohman and hendrickson. Should be a solid .500 team don't ya think roch??
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Only if the young guys progress as expected/hoped. - Roch
I don't really like this move. I like Sarfate's potential over several on the team including Albers. You can never have enough guys hitting 96-98 on the gun. Maybe the O's plan on giving his spot to D. Hernandez.
Class, Did I miss something? I thought Andino played more than admirably when Caesar went down. Consistent at bats and his patience and hitting improved. The O's could do worse...remember the clowns (all 8 of them?)they ran out to SS in 2008? Why couldn't he be the everyday SS?
I also don't get the lamenting over Garland. He's just another over paid average-at-best pitcher who would get his arse handed to him in the AL East. I'd take Bedard, assuming he's OK, anyday and twice on Sundays over Garland.
Roch, I'm jealous already thinking about you heading off to Sarasota for ST while I have to really work (this isn't work for you right?).
Ed Smith Stadium holds fond memories for me, when at 1990 Dream Week I got Brooks to hit into a double play...he crossed the field and shook my hand on the way back to the dugout...about the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me.
Sorry honey...other than you.
Because Gambino had a great ERA (2.94) and Whip (1.06) at Triple A last year. Sarfate hasn't had a great ERA anywhere, plus he turns 29 before this season begins. Gambino doesn't turn 27 until the end of the season. Sarfate is a nice guy but baseball is a business and frankly he hasn't done anything in the last few years that has earned him a spot other than throw hard which in the big leagues makes him a dime a dozen.
I'm a couple entries late on the idea of trading Izturis toward the end of the year, but I wanted to see what you thought about this possibility. I know Andy MacPhail said yesterday that Bell would not push Tejada out of the lineup this year, but what if they do move Izturis? If they do and Josh Bell is on fire in the minors, do you feel that they would bring up Bell and shift Tejada back over to short for the rest of the year (and possibly another year)?
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It sure doesn't sound like they have any intention of playing Tejada at short. They wanted to move him to third before trading him. It's not like his range has gotten any better. - Roch
Sarfate is as good as gone after his performance in the Mexican League.
I'm with you, Roch. What the heck does this club see in Gabino and/or Florimon?
I do happen to believe that Alberto Castillo could be a keeper though. He was very effective in both Baltimore and Norfolk last year. I'd prefer him to most of the lefty free agents we're hearing about.
Thumbs down on this from me. That makes it two moves the O's made this week that I don't agree with...
Roch, he was in Mexico, that might have been 97 KM, not MPH. Still Gabino is considered better? That's interesting...
I keep telling you, it's the curse of the Gambino!!!
Lauren said:
Thumbs down on this from me. That makes it two moves the O's made this week that I don't agree with...
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That's why you're not the GM, Lauren.
Roch,
I'm kinds surprised by this move as well. Furthermore, I'm gonna miss that chuckle I always get when one of our tv announcers refers to him as Dennis Sa-FART-e.
Agree with you Roch, not sure why you drop a power arm like Sarfate when so many teams covet them. As do the Orioles. I really thought Gabino or Castillo would have been the one to be dropped off the 40 man. I guess that is why I am at work typing on your blog.haha Either way I do not think this move hurts us in the long run.
Roch,
Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Troy Patton supposed to be the cornerstone of that trade? I know he came over as "damaged goods" but my understanding was that he was a highly regarded prospect in the Astros system. Is he still highly regarded by the O's front office? He seems to have been lost in the shuffle now that "the cavalry" has arrived.
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Yes, they still like him. He's coming back from shoulder surgery and they were careful with him last year. - Roch
Why???????
Sarfates numbers were coming back at the end of the year and in Mexico. Anyone remeber that cutter that he had at the end of the year no one could hit?
Why wasn't it Albers? Roch help me Im so confused :(
HORRIBLE MOVE!!!!!!!!
As I said in my post yesterday, Sarfate had a 0.90 ERA in his last 10 Sept Appearances
I thought Albers would be going bye-bye, he is alot like Sidney Ponson, shows a little promise at the beginning of his career, but is very expendable although I hear buffet places love having the two as customers.
I think AM should sign both Henderickson and Beimel, Henderickson for the middle innings and long relief
Beimel for lefty-lefty matchups or an 8th inning set up man, (I think J.J would pitch better if he knew there was a veteran pushing him for the 8th inning setup job)
Could this be a way of dumping a ML salary as opposed to Gambino's minor league one?
Wow, I would make a visit to see Fat Albers and ask him to "step on the scale" before I made the decision to cut Sarfate!
Am I missing something? Where is the arguement that Albers has shown anything more than Sarfate? Sarfate is not overweight and out-of-shape. His career ERA is better, his W-L record is better, opponents batting average is lower, stikes more guys out, almost all stats are better except for walks.
If anyone deserves to be cut, it's Albers for showing up last year completely out of shape and professionally unprepared. Maybe he's next?
While I've lifted an eyebrow on this one, I'm not confused or astonished by this. I'm assuming Albers wasn't at the Fanfest or someone would have already said how he looked, but I am assuming that MacPhail/Trembley have checked up on him. The difference between Albers and Sarfate is that Albers has shown the ability to pitch and I'm not sure Sarfate has. He throws hard. We've seen a bunch of these guys come through and they almost all frustrate us with their inability to leverage the power. I'll give this one a shoulder shrug and move on.
You have to think this is helping David Hernandez' chance to make the team.
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Albers was there. I spoke to him briefly, but didn't give him the once-over, as it were. - Roch
Who knew Sarfate had such a big fan club? After today, I will probably never spend another moment thinking of him. Best wishes to him, but his "production" is easily replaced, and hopefully with a more successful pitcher.
Since it is highly likely that a few more spots will be cleared on the 40-man before opening day, I imagine Gabino and a few others are still skating on thin ice.
People who get upset about Sarfate are still stuck in the mindset that we never have any type of pitching depth in our system. Sarfate's talent is dime a dozen in our farm system now. This is a great thing. In years past, we would need to bank on players like this bouncing back strong... now we have lots of guys with talent and high ceilings. In 2-3-4 years, you will have forgotten about Sarfate's name.
Craig... im glad to see your contributing regularly again. Where have you been?
Biz Marquie... Hilarious! Curse of the Gambino.
Dotted Craig, welcome back, my friend. The rest of us failed miserably in making up for your Ellipse Power Usage.
Who else are we still missing? And by "missing" I do actually mean "missing", not "who isn't here that we don't really miss all that much"? (Dotted Craig, you definitely fell in to the former category!)
About time for Will Ohman. I had hoped we were going to sign him last year. I hoped that still even after his injury. Just a handy guy to have around. I might be the only cheerleader he has, though.
So my fanfest picture with Brian Matusz is going away. It was up at work for all of five minutes. He looks totally twelve. And the first "you could totally be his mom!" comment made me alternately sick and violent.
That sucks! I always thought Sarfate had tremendous upside and just needed to get a handle on his control. He has way more potential than Super size me Matt Albers. Oh well, I guess we'll see.
Hope that Dennis Sarfate passes through waivers somehow, and the O's can give him an invite to ST. He is a class guy with a good attitude.
Strange move by the O's. There were others that seemed more on the bubble then Sarfate.
Perhaps they are thinking that Brandon Erbe is the next bullpen power arm and has much more upside than Sarfate and a much cheaper salary. I've heard great things about Erbe being a guy for the back of the bullpen, despite the fact that he's still a starter.
Roch,
Is Wilfrido Perez healthy? Does he have a shot to make the team this year?
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I assume he's healthy, but won't know for sure until spring training. He has a shot, but it's a long one, considering all the time he missed last season at Double-A. - Roch
Sarfate throws hard and seems to have a good attitude.
He's also 29 and has command issues.
While there are other names on the 40-man I would think of as more vulnerable, this move can't really be seen as a suprise. Maybe he'll get a chance with another team. If not, the Orioles will likely outright him to AAA and invite him to sit at the big boy table in spring training.