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Aaron Laffey

Royals Claim Laffey, Designate Chavez

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The Royals announced today they've claimed lefty Aaron Laffey off outright waivers from the Yankees and designated reliever Jesse Chavez to create a 40-man roster spot.

Laffey, 26, posted a 3.88 ERA, 5.1 K/9, 3.5 BB/9, 1.18 HR/9, and 48.1% groundball rate in 53 1/3 innings for the Mariners and Yankees this year.  He wasn't any better against left-handed hitters.  Earlier today, Joe Pawlikowski of River Ave. Blues wrote that Laffey was an expected victim of the Yankees' upcoming 40-man roster crunch.

Chavez, 28, had joined the Royals at last year's trade deadline in the Rick Ankiel/Kyle Farnsworth deal.  He struggled mightily in the Majors this year but had a 3.75 ERA, 8.4 K/9, 2.5 BB/9, and 0.9 HR/9 in 57 2/3 Triple-A innings.  Chavez averaged 94.5 miles per hour on his fastball the last few years, but that dropped a full two miles per hour this year in the Majors.

Yankees Designate Aaron Laffey For Assignment

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The Yankees designated lefty Aaron Laffey for assignment, tweets Marc Carig of the Newark Star-Ledger.  They'd claimed him off waivers from the Mariners on Friday.  Carig notes that Laffey was placed on optional waivers, meaning he remains on the 40-man roster and can be pulled back if claimed.

Laffey, 26, posted a 4.14 ERA, 5.1 K/9, 3.5 BB/9, 1.4 HR/9, and 50.9% groundball rate in 45 2/3 innings for the Mariners and Yankees this year.

Yankees Claim Laffey, Designate Gustavo Molina

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The Yankees claimed left-hander Aaron Laffey off of waivers from the Mariners and designated catcher Gustavo Molina for assignment, according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News (on Twitter). It's the second time this week that the Yankees have claimed a left-hander; they picked up Raul Valdes on Tuesday.

The Mariners designated Laffey for assignment to create roster space for Chance Ruffin earlier in the week. Laffey appeared in 36 games for Seattle this year, posting a 4.01 ERA with 5.1 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 42 2/3 innings of work. The Mariners acquired the 26-year-old from Cleveland this March for cash and Double-A infielder Matt Lawson.

To create room for Laffey on their full 40-man roster, the Yankees designated Molina, who wasn't with the Major League team. The 29-year-old has spent most of the season at Triple-A, where he has a .239/.273/.310 line in 152 plate appearances. He also appeared in three Yankees games this year and has previous experience with four other MLB teams.

Mariners Designate Aaron Laffey For Assignment

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The Mariners announced that they designated left-hander Aaron Laffey for assignment to create roster space for Chance Ruffin, who will be available against the Blue Jays tonight. The Mariners now have ten days to trade, release or outright the contract of Laffey.

Laffey, 26, appeared in 36 games for Seattle this year, posting a 4.01 ERA with 5.1 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 42 2/3 innings of work. The Mariners acquired him from Cleveland this March for cash and Double-A infielder Matt Lawson.

Mariners To Acquire Aaron Laffey

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6:51pm: The Indians will receive infielder Matt Lawson in return for Laffey, according to a team press release.  Seattle will also send cash considerations to the Tribe, according to their Twitter feed.

Lawson has mostly played second base, but has also seen some time in the outfield as well as at shortstop.  The Indians' press release refers to the 25-year-old as an "infielder/outfielder".  In 118 games at the Double-A level last season, Lawson hit .293/.372/.439 with nine homers.

6:13pm: The Indians have reportedly traded Aaron Laffey to Seattle, writes Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer.  There's no word yet on what Cleveland will recieve in return for the soon-to-be 26-year-old.

Cleveland had planned to use Spring Training to decide whether to put the left-hander in the bullpen or at the back of the rotation.  Recently, Laffey said that while he was amiable towards whatever the Tribe decided on, he was very much looking forward to knowing what role he would take on in 2011.

"That's something I haven't had in a couple years," Laffey told Jordan Bastian of MLB.com. "That consistency in knowing you're going to start the year in one position, and you're going to stay there, I haven't had that yet."

In four big league seasons, Laffey has a 4.41 ERA with 4.4 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9.  Trading the left-hander is likely the move to open up a spot on the Indians' 40-man roster for the recently signed Chad Durbin, Bastian tweets. 

Cafardo’s Latest: Fuentes, Sowers, Laffey

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Boston Globe baseball writer Nick Cafardo’s Sunday column has new hot stove material, as usual.

  • Cafardo notes that Kyle Snyder, Julian Tavarez, and Bryan Corey have all been heavily scouted by other clubs.  Snyder is out of options, so he’s a good trade candidate.  Cafardo mentioned on Thursday that the Orioles were taking a look at Corey, who might return to Japan if he doesn’t join a big league ’pen.  I imagine the Sox are going to want the insurance Tavarez provides.
  • The Phils are hunting for a southpaw reliever and another starter. Brian Fuentes remains on their radar, but they’re competing with the Tigers and Yankees for him. 
  • The Indians could make southpaws Jeremy Sowers and/or Aaron Laffey available, if Cliff Lee maintains his spring success.  Cafardo says the Cardinals, Phillies, and Astros are eyeing them.

Ocker On Blake, Marte, Dellucci, Borowski And Lee

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Sheldon Ocker of the Akron Beacon Journal does some speculating on the Indians’ third base, left field, and closer situations.

  • Casey Blake’s contract expires at the end of the season, and at age 35, Ocker doesn’t believe that Indians’ GM Mark Shapiro will re-up for him.  Ocker points to two reasons why Andy Marte probably won’t work out as the in-house solution to Blake’s potential absence: he could be lost on waivers if he doesn’t make the team as a utility man coming out of Spring Training, and he shows no sign of figuring things out and becoming an impact player.  Check out his Dominican Winter League performance if you need further proof that the 24 year-old Marte is regressing: .198/.213/.260 with seven errors.  Small sample size?  Yes, but wowza!
  • Who from the available 2009 free agent list could be had to man third base?  Could Asdrubal Cabrera be shifted to shortstop, and Jhonny Peralta moved to third?  If so, who could move in to play second in place of Cabrera?
  • Ocker also speculates that Shapiro will allow Jason Michaels of the Michaels/David Dellucci platoon walk unless their productivity rises substantially.  Michaels is slated to make $2.15MM this season, and the club has an option for $2.6MM in 2009.  What about Ben Francisco?  Could he be an option to take over for Michaels in the platoon?
  • This could also be Joe Borowski’s last year as closer in Cleveland, Ocker says.  Borowski will be 37 in 2009, and it has long been speculated that Borowski is on the cusp of losing his job.  Ocker points out that it is always tough to find a closer on the free agent market, but remarks that it’s "questionable" that the role could be filled in-house.  I still don’t understand the reluctance to place Rafael Betancourt in the role.  Anyone?
  • Finally, Ocker wonders how Cliff Lee would handle losing the number five slot in the rotation to Aaron Laffey or Jeremy Sowers.  Relying on Lee’s response to last year’s demotion — which was one of surprise at a player with a multi-year contract being sent to the minors ($3.75MM this year) — Ocker says that Lee has a sense of entitlement regarding the number five slot.  Ocker says that is "fine as long as he holds up his end of the bargain."

Posted by Matt Birt

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