Padilla Placed On Waivers

In a shocking move, the Texas Rangers have placed their no. 2 starter, Vicente Padilla, on outright waivers. Apparently, much of this stems from the Rangers growing frustration with Padilla and their inabilty to rely on him to make correct decisions both on and off the mound.

Padilla's short fuse is well documented and most around baseball view him as a headhunter. He lived up to that charge last night, hitting Mark Teixeira twice in first four innings of the game. The second time, Teixeira went on a profanity-laced tirade before being ushered to first base by manager, Joe Girardi.

"That is not the right way to play the game," said Teixeira after last nights 12-3 victory. "That guy [Padilla] has been doing that [throwing at batters] his entire career."

Teixeira went on to point out that when he was in Texas he would often be hit by pitches as retaliation from other teams after Padilla had hit one of their hitters.

"Anyone who knows Vicente knows that is the way he does it," Teixeira said.



With Padilla on waivers, Texas can outright him to the minor leagues (assuming he's not claimed) but because of his service time Padilla does retain the right to refuse the assignment which would then make him a free agent.

The Rangers, however, cannot rescind the waiver if Padilla is claimed (in an effort to then try and arrange a trade), and don't need Padilla to clear waivers to trade him. That's what makes me think this may simply be more about trying to clear Padilla's remaining $8 million off the books in an effort to both save money and also clear a spot in the starting rotation for rookie Derek Holland.

It should also be noted that teams aren't required to clear players through waivers for trade purposes until after the July 31 trade deadline.

Regardless of how this story plays out, a very clear message has been sent by Rangers management. Nolan Ryan, John Daniels, et al are trying to build an organization based on quality play and players with a high level of class. Padilla has long been known as a bit of a maverick and has typically kept to himself in the clubhouse. A message has been sent that no one is above the team and, regardless of whether this is the end of Padilla's time with Texas or not, any sort of behavior which has a negative effect on the chemistry of the clubhouse will not be tolerated.