Jarrod Washburn: Appearing at a stadium near you?

Apparently Jarrod Washburn has been informed by the Seattle Mariners that he was placed on waivers and some team has claimed him.  The claiming team has yet to be outed, but by waiver rules, the Mariners can work out a deal with the claiming team.

Could we be seeing Washburn in a Cardinal uniform soon?  Buster Olney and Seattle Times writer Geoff Baker both have speculated that to be the case.

Check out the latest updates on this post over at MLBTradeRumors.com (I’ll try to keep this one updated too as I scour for more info).

Does this make sense for the Cardinals?  With several off-days coming in the next few weeks, they can get by with a four-man rotation for a number of series.  Could this be an indication of their expectations for Chris Carpenter the rest of this season?  Would this continue to reinforce the original plan by the Cardinals to ship Adam Wainwright back to the bullpen upon his return?  Or perhaps worse, they aren’t seeing any progress from Waino?

Who gets dropped from the rotation if Carp does make it back?  This would almost surely rule out any extension with Kyle Lohse for next season, with Washburn owed over $10M for 2009.  Could the Cards be giving up something significant in order to convince the M’s to pay most of that tab?

Yikes, lots of questions, few answers.  I’m sure it will come clearer in the coming hours, but one thing is virtually certain.  The Mariners are almost a lock not to pull Washburn back.  He has worn out his welcome there and needs a new locale.  Could Dave Duncan work his voodoo magic again?

I’m not sure I agree with panicking here and adding just to add - the Cards seem to have plenty of arms to throw into a rotation next season, not to mention a burgeoning number of dollars under their ~$100M or so expected payroll that one would think they could be spending on seemingly better free agents than Washburn.

I’ll keep you all posted…

UPDATE (4:27p) - Apparently I’m a little slow on the uptake, as CardsClubhouse.com forums have Olney saying this morning on ESPN that it was either the Tigers or the Twins.  MLBTR had claims that the Twins weren’t on Ibanez, so that would mean they want Washburn?  Seems an unlikely move for Minnesota without the M’s kicking in on that salary for next season, but they have climbed back into the AL Central race.

UPDATE (4:40p) - My buddy Jon Heyman has the scoop over at SI.com, Washburn claimed by the Twins, will remain a Mariner.  So Olney apparently had it right this morning, Tigers claiming Ibanez, Twins on Washburn.  Surprising that the M’s wouldn’t just let Washburn walk.

UPDATE (4:53p) - Derrick Goold has also refuted the rumors, quoting a Cardinals source as saying “his name has not come up.”  Can’t say that I’m disappointed.

UPDATE (5:01p) - Because the question was asked below, I thought I’d link to a great post by Padres’ Assistant GM Paul DePodesta that explains at a high level how the waiver claim and trade process works.

Barton to return sooner than later?

Brian Barton has rejoined the Cardinals, but is has not yet been activated.

Technically, the Cardinals could keep him on the disabled list the rest of the season and retain his rights, after choosing him in this past off-season’s Rule 5 Draft.  While I doubt the Cardinal management would go that far just to keep him while letting him sit and watch, they are still gaming the system here to a certain extent.

I would expect Barton to return within the next week or so.  The Cardinals have a favorable schedule in the coming weeks, with enough off days that they should be able to carry one less pitcher.

Who would go down to activate Barton?  Not to mention - what roster move will be made once Adam Wainwright returns from his rehab assignment?

I could see the Cardinals doing one of two things here - I suspect that unless they get an absolute vote of confidence on his shoulder, Chris Carpenter could get sent back on the disabled list, possibly for the rest of the season.  That might be a move to make room for Waino later on though, after they have exhausted all of their options of “rest” for Carp.

I expect that Joe Mather could be the Memphis casualty once Barton is activated.  Despite finally seeming comfortable at the plate against big-league pitching and starting to really show some of the power that we saw from him in Memphis, Mather is seemingly the odd-man out in the Cardinal outfield, especially as LaRussa continues to use Felipe Lopez in left field.

I still think that long-term, Barton may be trade bait for the Cards, but for now he’s not a bad guy to have around.  His element of speed is something the Redbirds certainly lack.

Ultimately, this will only be a two-and-a-half week problem anyway, as I fully expect all of these guys to be with the big club come September 1.