SATURDAY: Matthews has opted out of his deal, according to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer.
FRIDAY: Matthews intends to exercise his out clause tomorrow, tweets Jayson Stark of ESPN.com. The 36-year-old is hoping to land a major league job after hitting .313/.359/.490 at Triple-A Louisville.
TUESDAY: The Reds could lose Gary Matthews Jr. to free agency if they don't call him up by July 24th, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. Matthews has an out clause that will enable him to opt out of the deal he signed with the Reds if he isn't in the majors.
Matthews, 36 in August, has hit well at Triple-A Louisville, but the Reds already have Jay Bruce, Jonny Gomes, Drew Stubbs, Laynce Nix and Chris Heisey on their active roster. In 93 minor league plate appearances, Matthews has posted a .310/.355/.494 line, but has not posted an OPS above .700 in the majors since 2007.
krawhitham
Tuesday is not the 24th. Do you mean next Tuesday or do you mean the 24th
nathanalext
According to the Reds’ website, it’s the 24th, not Tuesday.
Infield Fly
Time for GMJ to opt for the ultimate free agency – retirement!
studio179
The Reds better act fast! They don’t want to miss out on that! As Dusty would say, you can’t turn your back on Gary Matthews, Jr.
Jay
Honestly with Jay Bruce Struggling badly would it be a bad idea to give him a shot at least. Bruce has been horrid the past month. Even if he hits .250 and gets on base at a .320 clip in the majors that would be better than what we have gotten out of bruce the past month. I think Bruce needs to go down and get fixed. I don’t know why he is hitting the way he is but it seems like he can’t get out of his funk.
Tom R
Take my word for it, a struggling Jay Bruce is 10 x better than GMJ. GMJ is a clubhouse cancer and only hits about .220 when he is doing well.
Jay
clubhouse cancer , I have never heard that before. I know his batting stats in the past have been pretty bad but he also has had some pretty decent years too. Alas those were about 4 or 5 years ago 🙁
Tom R
I am an Angels fan, so I know about his attitude problems. He used to call closed door meeting all the time with Scioscia to discuss his lack of playing. He also demanded a trade on more than one occasion. Plus, he was just recently voted as one of the most overrated players in the game by his peers (according to fangraphs).
sacu
I love how people, read fans, can say with certainty that they know what goes on inside the clubhouses of mlb teams. Look, I’ve read that a lot of current players read these threads but I doubt most of them, if any, comment about other players, especially negatively. So Tom, unless you were once an executive or player on the Angels, please refrain from making yourself sound like a jackass. And no, I am not a fan of GMJ, the Angels, the Reds or even Jay Bruce.
Eli Goodrich
There is no way he would put up a .250 with a .320 obp. He is way worse then that.
crashcameron
“But he also has had some pretty decent years too. Alas those were about 4 or 5 years ago :(”
yeah, when he could still get those “packages” in the mail
Tacho Bill
Jay Bruce ruined my life. True story.
woadude
The Reds are probably counting down the days to being free of GMJ, they have scraggled “X” ‘s over the days as they slowly pass by and in their mind a voice says “soon, very very soon”
crashcameron
The Reds are about to “LOSE” matthews to free agency!??!?!?!?
as Bill Walton would say: “Hill-airy-yuss!”
aap212
Remember when you were a kid and you lost chicken pox?
Ian_Smell
At least chicken pox can get on base 30 percent of the time.
Andy
What do Jay Bruce, Jonny Gomes, Drew Stubbs, Laynce Nix and Chris Heisey all have in common?
They’re all better baseball players than Gary Matthews, Jr. right now.
redsandyanksfan
And ALWAYS will be lol
aap212
Now if only he had a self-destruct button.
BaseballFanatic0707
QUICK REDS FANS, PANIC!
TooKooky
In addition to ay Bruce, Jonny Gomes, Drew Stubbs, Laynce Nix and Chris Heisey, the Reds also have Chris Dickerson playing at Louisville on a rehab assignment. Going into tonight he was at a .500 clip. He’s also younger, faster, more talented and has a much better attitude than Sarge Jr. GMJ should play out the season in AAA, because I can’t see any team giving a major league job this year unless it involves selling brats and beer in the stands.
dawgpaddlez
Welcome back the new starting center fielder for the new york mets..jerry will plug him into the lineup immediately
nathanalext
OH SNAP! And I thought this was the final piece to get the Reds to the World Series. Guess we really need Sheffield now!
McDiddy
It’s because the are doing roid testing the minors now…