Cya. Glad thats done.
Tigers part ways with Marcus Thames, Matt Treanor
By Steve Kornacki
November 06, 2009, 4:46PM
DETROIT -- Outfielder Marcus Thames and catcher Matt Treanor were removed this afternoon from the 40-man roster by the Detroit Tigers.
The moves allowed the club to add reliever Joel Zumaya and infielder Jeff Larish to the 40-man roster in a house-keeping measure required as the major league-required date for rosters to be solidified approaches.
Detroit also removed infielder Michael Hollimon from the 40-man roster and assigned him outright to Triple-A Toledo. That allowed roster room for reliever Jay Sborz, whom Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski said likely would have been recalled in 2009 if not for being injured.
Sborz, a second-round pick in 2003, would have been exposed to the Rule 5 draft next month at the winter meetings in Indianapolis had he not been protected on the roster.
Ryan Raburn’s development in left field made Thames expendable.
“Marcus has done a good job for us,” Dombrowski said. “He’s been an important part of our organization, and is as quality a person as you will meet.
“But we don’t see him as a good fit for us with Raburn coming on and having Carlos Guillen, Magglio Ordonez and Clete Thomas at the corner outfield spots.”
Thames hit 26 home runs with 60 RBIs -- both career-highs -- in 2006 to help the club reach the World Series. And he hit 25 homers with 56 RBIs in 2008, when he tied a club record by hitting homers in five consecutive games in June. But his playing time was limited in 2009, when he hit .252 with 13 homers and 36 RBIs.
Raburn hit .291 with 16 homers and 45 RBIs last season, when he had 261 at-bats compared to 258 for Thames. He also had a defensive edge over Thames.
