No surprises here, although I'm sure it'll still send many of you into fits:
Mariners RHP Ricky Orta has been placed on waivers for the purpose of granting him his unconditional release
I figured they'd put Orta on the 60-day DL. Shannon Drayer said it wasn't going to be a 60-day DL move. The M's split the middle.
As many have already pointed out on Twitter, the likelihood is that, after Orta clears waivers - which he likely will, since he's a 25 year old AA reliever with a fresh Tommy John scar in his elbow - the team will re-sign him, so we're probably not losing anybody. And even if we do, it's Ricky Orta. It'd be like losing a pushpin behind the desk. Aw, man, I was gonna use that pushpin to hold some shit in place. Now I have to grab another pushpin. Guess I'd better open the drawer with all of the pushpins.
The thing that's getting people upset is that the move doesn't send Mike Sweeney away, but while anyone who wanted that has his heart in the right place, it wasn't going to happen. That'll be addressed separately. If it's ever addressed, which, oh man. I'm holding out hope for a versatile righty/switch-hitter in the Ryan Doumit mold, but whatever happens, we'll cross that bridge when we get there. The corresponding 40-man roster move was never going to involve the unceremonious ejection of Mike Sweeney.