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As Bauxite 92-93 and our John Northey pointed out in a previous thread, the Jays have claimed left-hander Sean Henn off waivers from Baltimore.  To make room, the Jays have designated catcher Michael Barrett for assignment.

Henn began the 2009 season with the Twins organization and earned a call-up to the big club in late May from AAA Rochester.  His Minnesota debut saw him give up two runs in 1 1/3 innings against the White Sox but he put together a string of six straight scoreless relief appearances heading into early June.  After a 3.60 ERA in May, that figure shot up to 9.95 in June and he suffered three losses during the month.  That earned the 28 year-old native of Fort Worth, Texas a one-way ticket back to Frontier Field but he returned to the bigs in September when the Orioles acquired him from the Twins for cash or a player to be named later.

Henn's Baltimore career was off to a great start as he was unscored upon in his first five relief appearances spanning three innings.  Two of those appearances came against the Jays at Rogers Centre in which he pitched 1 1/3 innings and allowed a hit and a walk while striking out two.    Alex Anthopoulos and the Jays brass must've seen something they liked in Henn during his two appearances against them last month.  Henn featured a four seam fastball that ranged anywhere from 91 to 95 MPH, a slider from 78-82 MPH and the odd change up in the low 80's according to MLB Game Day.  That repertoire definitely worked in Rochester this season as he recorded an ERA of 2.23 in 38 2/3 innings while allowing just 37 hits while striking out 45 and walking just 16.

However, his final appearance with Baltimore was one to forget as he surrendered three runs without getting an out against the Indians to drive his Orioles ERA up to 9.00.  His final 2009 totals with the Twins and O's were a record of 0-3 with a 7.53 ERA and he allowed 15 hits in 14 1/3 innings while compiling a K-BB total of 14-12.   His career totals aren't much better as he has lost 9 of 11 decisions with a 7.56.  He's allowed 99 hits over 81 innings and his K-BB mark is an unsightly 62-64.

Beginning his big league career with the Yankees in 2005 before being claimed by the Padres last season, Toronto marks Henn's fifth major league organization.  The Jays hope the 6-4, 215 pound lefty can discover the command he had in Rochester and in his brief stint in Baltimore.

To make room for Henn, the Jays have DFA'd Michael Barrett which means the Jays have 10 days to trade him, release him or put him on waivers.  Barrett's time with the Jays covered all of seven games in which he hit .167/.211/.333 with one homer and two RBI.  Beating out Raul Chavez for the right to back up Rod Barajas behind the plate in spring training, Barrett landed on the disabled list with a shoulder injury while trying to chase down a David Purcey wild pitch during a loss to Oakland at the Rogers Centre.  He wasn't able to return to the bigs despite rehabbing in Dunedin and Las Vegas.  The right-handed hitting catcher only got to the plate 37 times and batted just .206/.250/.265 with the D-Jays and 51's before he was shut down in early July. 

Barrett has had a hard time avoiding the injury bug over the last couple of years as he suffered an elbow injury with the Padres and also fouled a pitch off his face last season before coming to the Jays.  A .263 career hitter, Barrett is now three seasons removed from his last good season in the bigs when he hit .307 with 16 homers as a member of the Chicago Cubs. He was the model of consistency as that season marked the third time in a row he belted 16 homers with the Cubbies and he reached double digits in the home run column with the Expos in the two seasons before that.   Barrett hopes to be fully recovered in time for spring training but his major league future is definitely up in the air for 2010.

Jays Put Henn On Rooster, DFA Barrett | 21 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
92-93 - Thursday, October 29 2009 @ 07:27 PM EDT (#207861) #
I feel slighted.
Ron - Thursday, October 29 2009 @ 07:48 PM EDT (#207862) #
According to Joe Frisaro, the Jays have hired Mike Mordecai as a roving infield coach.
#2JBrumfield - Thursday, October 29 2009 @ 08:13 PM EDT (#207864) #
Sorry, 92-93.  You were the first to point it out here so it's been noted and corrected.  As numerically named people in these parts, we must stick together! :D
Thomas - Thursday, October 29 2009 @ 08:29 PM EDT (#207865) #
Matt Stairs prevails over AJ Burnett with an RBI single to put the Phillies ahead in the second game of the World Series.

Isn't baseball great sometimes?
Jim - Thursday, October 29 2009 @ 09:12 PM EDT (#207866) #
Why would you waste a roster spot on Sean Henn?  A blind man walking into the Rule 5 draft could find a better use.
Mike Green - Thursday, October 29 2009 @ 09:26 PM EDT (#207868) #
Henn can start out 2010 in triple A.  A Rule 5 pick has to sit on the major league roster.  Not that these two are mutually exclusive.  You can make a very good case that the Jays ought to see if they can pick up a Manny Lee, if not a Johan Santana, the easy way in 2010.
Doom Service - Thursday, October 29 2009 @ 10:17 PM EDT (#207869) #
I saw Henn pitch in Rochester this summer and he looked major league ready, velocity and command wise. Might be a low cost alternative to someone like Tallet or a replacement for a dealt bullpenner. In any case, he's worth more than Barrett, acknowledging that we're playing at the margins here.
VBF - Thursday, October 29 2009 @ 10:24 PM EDT (#207870) #
I see the catching situation this year a little more murky than before. I wonder if getting Barrett on a minor league deal with an invite would be doable. He was good and got hurt. If he could stay healthy I see no harm in it and no great prospect he would be blocking in Vegas.
Jim - Thursday, October 29 2009 @ 10:50 PM EDT (#207871) #
I get that Henn and a rule 5 pick are mutually exclusive.  I've also seen Henn for years and there are dozens of pitchers like him and there is really no need to tie up a roster space with him.  The 39th guy on your 40 man roster isn't a huge impact, but the Yankees had Henn for years and he had no chance of making that staff, so I'm pretty sure he isn't part of the solution to tracking them down.
John Northey - Thursday, October 29 2009 @ 10:58 PM EDT (#207872) #
Right now the Jays have 14 right handed pitchers and 12 left handed pitchers listed on the 40 man (for some reason Marcum is still on the 60 day DL according to it, but I list him as a roster slot since he'll get one once forced onto it).

There also are 3 catchers (Barajas will soon be off that list as a free agent), 6 infielders (McDonald, Millar and Scutaro will be removed soon), 5 outfielders (Bautista the only one at risk), and 1 DH (Ruiz).

So 4 more slots will be free shortly, Davis Romero is off it soon I'm sure, Wolfe is at risk as is Bill Murphy and Dirk Hayhurst I suspect. I'm certain others are also on the bubble if the Jays feel an open slot is of value, including Henn.
TamRa - Friday, October 30 2009 @ 01:00 AM EDT (#207874) #
I get that Henn and a rule 5 pick are mutually exclusive.  I've also seen Henn for years and there are dozens of pitchers like him and there is really no need to tie up a roster space with him.

Please.

how many (hundred thousand) times have we seen a team claim a guy on waivers only to try to waive him themselves later just to get him into their system.

I'm pretty darn sure if we need a roster spot for something Henn isn't going to stop an important move.


As for Barrett, I like him but he would have been a FA anyway so exactly nothing is lost there.

mathesond - Friday, October 30 2009 @ 11:26 AM EDT (#207880) #
Henn's on the Rooster? Sounds like a cock-up to me
Matthew E - Friday, October 30 2009 @ 12:26 PM EDT (#207881) #

Oh, you're right. There's a spelling mistake in the title.

I guess we'll have to pullet.

Richard S.S. - Friday, October 30 2009 @ 01:07 PM EDT (#207883) #

Just a few points to mention:

Waiver claims on players of this caliber occur all the time, it`s good business.   Toronto finished the season tied 9-11 for the 2010 draft.   This order also applies to Rule 5 Draft, the waiver wire, as well as other things.   There is value out there to be discovered, something Toronto just missed many times earlier.   LHP always has value.

Toronto Pitching Coaches are GOOD.   Sean Henn was picked because he`s needed; whether in Toronto or in Las Vegas, whether as a Starter or as a Reliever.   He has an ability someone on the Jays wanted in the organization.   Why http://mvn.com/thesouthpaw/2009/10/27/the-beest-y-boys.html#comments might help.

FisherCat - Friday, October 30 2009 @ 01:55 PM EDT (#207885) #

Thanks to mlb.com Jays' scribe, Jordan Bastian, here is a convenient website for all us Jays' fans to track all the farmhands stats in the various Winter Leagues.

On a related note, Darin Mastroianni played in his first 2 games in the AFL this week and in game #1 was picked off 1st.  Game #2, caught stealing.  Seemed somewhat comical to me that such a speed demon during the season was unsuccessful in his 1st attempts.

OK, now back to your regularly scheduled program!

92-93 - Friday, October 30 2009 @ 02:55 PM EDT (#207887) #
In yesterday's Keith Law chat, he indicated he was of the opinion that the stat lines in leagues like the AFL are entirely useless.
FisherCat - Friday, October 30 2009 @ 03:34 PM EDT (#207890) #

I agree that we must take all Winter League stats with a grain of salt, but of all the leagues the AFL is the one that probably best represents progress against your peers.

Also it is only a small sample size and I wouldn't bump Dopirak or Castro up the Jays' prospect charts based on the relative dominance they're showing so far in the Caribbean.  Still it is nice to keep an eye on anything pertaining to Jays baseball as EDT comes to an end.

Mike Forbes - Friday, October 30 2009 @ 06:13 PM EDT (#207893) #
According to mlbtraderumors.com, the Astros have signed Brad Arnsberg to be their new pitching coach. So, we're keeping Gaston and getting rid of our good coaches. Mediocrity rules!
HollywoodHartman - Friday, October 30 2009 @ 06:14 PM EDT (#207894) #
Lots of coaching news today. None too pleasant. All info from Bastions twitter.

  "Brian Butterfield third base coach, Nick Leyva new bench coach, Rick Langford new bullpen coach, Omar Malave new first base coach."
"Gaston to retire from managing after 2010. Bruce Walton named new pitching coach, Dwayne Murphy new hitting coach. Gene Tenace retires."
"RT @brianmctaggart: Astros name Brad Arnsberg pitching coach"
katman - Sunday, November 01 2009 @ 01:02 AM EST (#207934) #
Sorry, I don't see this as a positive. To me, it looks like the organization has thrown away 2 strengths and is wasting a season. Not just failing to contend - wasting a season, which is unforgivable. Another year of the boneheaded moves and guys like Millar hitting 4th will do some damage to this organization. And there's no reason for the organization to allow that if it's serious about building a winner. Or serious about having the best people, top to bottom. What a terrible, contradictory signal this is, vs. the rhetoric AA has been pushing.

Cito did not give this team its best chance to win every night. Quite the reverse. And this team needs all the help it can get. It needs young players playing, vets shoved aside, an atmosphere that says winning is important, and forward momentum on the field from the year-start baseline.

I don't see good odds of getting those things in 2010.

katman - Sunday, November 01 2009 @ 01:04 AM EST (#207935) #
Hmm, will post this in the new thread instead, where the discussion appears to be focused on that announcement. Thanks for creating that!
Jays Put Henn On Rooster, DFA Barrett | 21 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.