Tag Archives: Jamey Wright

Tampa Bay Rays sign Jamey Wright to (another) minor-league deal.

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Jamey Wright‘s deceptively steady career will continue in the Tampa Bay Rays organization. Jamey WrightThe free agent right-hander signed a minor-league contract Tuesday with an invitation to spring training, the Rays announced.

The Dodgers let Wright become a free agent after he went 5-3 with a 3.72 earned-run average in 66 games out of the bullpen last season. The 38-year-old was second on the team in appearances (to Ronald Belisario) and games finished (to Kenley Jansen) after being slotted as a middle reliever to start the season.

Actually, Wright didn’t have a slot to start 2012. This is the eighth straight year he’ll enter camp as a non-roster invitee hoping for a major-league job. He beat out John Grabow for the final bullpen spot last year, but had even less of a chance in 2013 with right-handers Belisario, Jansen, Brandon League, Matt Guerrier, and Javy Guerra already on the 40-man roster. The Dodgers also poached free agent left-hander J.P. Howell from Tampa Bay and Wright’s historical success against lefties — no home runs in 139 plate appearances with a .252 batting average in 2012 — might mean he inherits Howell’s role out of the Rays’ bullpen.

A bigger incentive for Wright: He gets a shot with a perennial contender. In a 17-year career playing for nine teams, Wright has never pitched in a postseason game.

Ten Dodgers become free agents.

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The Dodgers declined to exercise the 2013 club options on Todd Coffey, Juan Rivera and Matt Treanor.

They join another seven players who became free agents today: Brandon League, Shane Victorino, Randy Choate, Jamey Wright, Joe Blanton, Adam Kennedy and Bobby Abreu.

In other words, no big names or surprises for the Dodgers on the first day of free agency. Players can only sign with new teams beginning at 9 p.m. Friday. Between now and then, the Dodgers can re-sign any of their in-house free agents, and they’ve already opened discussions with League’s representatives.

General manager Ned Colletti said that he would like to bring back Choate and Wright, as well, to keep intact a bullpen that finished the 2012 season strong.

Coffey, Rivera and Treanor now fall into the category of Victorino, Kennedy and Abreu: highly unlikely to be on the roster next season.

Blanton is an interesting case. The Dodgers gave him what amounted to a 10-start audition in August and September. In five starts at home, the 31-year-old right-hander went 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA. Not bad. In five road starts he was 1-3, 6.51. Bad.

I guess that makes Blanton a “known quantity” for a team that is looking to add a starting pitcher. But looking at a free-agent market that now includes Zack Greinke, Anibal Sanchez, Ryan Dempster, Kyle Lohse  and Hiroki Kuroda (another “known quantity”), the Dodgers probably figure they can do better.

The hot stove is just warming up.

Loss hits Jamey Wright hard.

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Jamey Wright was not the pitcher of record in the 4-3 loss last night that officially eliminated the Dodgers from the playoffs.

You wouldn’t know that by the veteran right-hander’s demeanor after the game, when he said he was “fighting tears.”

“It hurts. Hurts bad. It’s a fun season. It’s a September that I never got to experience. For me, it was a good one.”

Continue reading “Loss hits Jamey Wright hard.” »

Padres 6, Dodgers 5.

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Brad Davis’ walk-off double against Francisco Felix –a call-up from the Dodgers’ minor-league camp –scored Beamer Weems and Daniel Robertson and lifted the San Diego Padres to a 6-5 win in the bottom of the ninth inning before an announced crowd of 4,740 at Peoria Sports Complex. [box score]

If those names sound obscure, it’s because they are. The game featured plenty of minor-leaguers on both sides, including six for the Dodgers as a number of regulars got the day off. That included third baseman Juan Uribe, who became a late lineup scratch after a bunted ball hit him in the groin during a practice Tuesday morning.

Juan Rivera hit his team-leading fourth Cactus League home run, a solo shot in the fourth inning off Padres starter Casey Kelly. The Dodgers totaled 15 hits, including three from Rivera, two from A.J. Ellis, Dee Gordon and Andre Ethier.

All of the Dodgers’ projected starters got a day off, and no pitcher –including starter Jamey Wright — pitched more than an inning. Of those, only Wright (1) Ronald Belisario (2), Angel Sanchez (1) and Felix (2) allowed runs.
Continue reading “Padres 6, Dodgers 5.” »

Bullpen rumblings: Grabow out, Wright in.

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The fortunes turned Monday for a pair of non-roster invitees in Dodgers camp: John Grabow opted out of his minor-league contract, and Jamey Wright was on the verge of signing a major-league contract, pending an official announcement from the team.

Grabow, 33, was among a small group of left-handers competing for one open bullpen spot, but has essentially lost the job to Wright despite not giving up a run this spring.

A native of Arcadia and a graduate of San Gabriel High School, Grabow walked one, struck out seven and allowed just four hits. He was eligible to opt out of his contract as a non-roster invitee as early as Sunday, and the move did not seem to catch manager Don Mattingly by surprise.

“He had an option. He exercised it. We kind of talked about it. Ned’s been talking with his agent,” Mattingly said. “Basically, he could do it at any time. He was basically giving us extra time to keep looking at him. He decided at this time to opt out. He’s been good in camp. Lefties, I always count on seeing them again. I figure we’ll see him somewhere down the line.”

Grabow last pitched one-third of an inning Saturday against the Cleveland Indians.
Continue reading “Bullpen rumblings: Grabow out, Wright in.” »