More Thoughts on B.J. Ryan
July 12th, 2009 | by jelletlambie |Earlier this week I wrote about the possibility of the Tigers pursuing recently released left handed reliever B.J. Ryan. You can read the original story here. In a nutshell my point was that under the right circumstances, such as his willingness to accept a minor league assignment prior to being added to the major league roster, Ryan could help this team in a number of ways. I also noted that this experiment of sorts would cost the team nothing but the prorated minimum salary, as he is still being paid more than $15,000,000 owed him by the Toronto Blue Jays.
Yesterday I spoke via email with John Lott, columnist for The National Post. He covers the Blue Jays regularly and wrote an excellent piece about the loss of leadership and experience that came with the release of Ryan. I asked him his thoughts on B.J. potentially coming to the Tigers, and what other teams may be interested in his services.
He had this to say:
“ my sense is that he is unlikely to step into any big-league pen right now and be effective. That’s not to say he won’t pitch well again, but asking him to swallow his considerable pride and go to Triple-A for a month, under the gaze of fresh coaching eyes, might better serve both him and his new employer. I see the Cubs might be interested as well. “
“I agree he’s worth a flyer — just not on the 25-man roster right now.”
It appears John is right about the Cubs interest in Ryan. He can’t negotiate with teams until he clears waivers, which is expected to happen Monday. I approached the Tigers to inquire about any interest in Ryan, the team does not comment on interest in any player, at any time.
You can expect Ryan to land somewhere soon, whether that will be in Detroit is not yet clear.
Have a question, comment or suggestion? Leave your thoughts below or drop me a line at jelletlambie@gmail.com
Tags: B.J. Ryan, Detroit Tigers, John Lott, National Post, Toronto Blue Jays
By Mark on Jul 12, 2009
I think it’s unbelievable that Toronto didn’t try harder to trade this guy and swallow some of his salary. A lefty is a lefty and Ryan does have a decent track record. He’s clearly not the same guy he was before Tommy John, but last year he did ok. Ego aside I think he can help teams win and it’s at least worth a flier for every contender.
Like the site by the way!
By jelletlambie on Jul 12, 2009
Thanks for stopping by Mark, hope all is well with your site. It sounds like he’ll have multiple suitors, just a question of where he wants to go.