Reyes declines outright assignment; released

Al Reyes a free agent.  [James Borchuck, Times]

Reliever Al Reyes declined his outright assignment to Durham and is now a free agent.

Reyes, 38, was designated on Aug. 9 when the Rays acquired reliever Chad Bradford. Reyes had missed 55 games this season while spending two stints on the disabled list. In 26 games this season, Reyes boasted a 4.37 ERA.

Reyes made a huge impact with the Rays last season, making the club as a non-roster invitee and saving 26 games in 30 chances.

Reyes is the second Rays reliever to decline an outright assignment this season; RHP Gary Glover did so on Aug. 1 and has since joined the Tigers.

-- JOE SMITH

joesmith@sptimes.com

Comments

[Ray F]

Al wished the team the best of luck and acknowledged he struggled this year.

What can you ask of him? He stepped up big last year (the bandwagonners wouldn't know that). Have some class. Good luck Al.

[kyle]

Reportedly, the Mets have signed Al. The Rays I quess would be paying the majority of his remaining contract

[Edgar]

hey dave I don't live in Detroit.

[jeff]

I think he really missed that drama and music he had last year when he came in as closer - ok, he got that drama in one big package, with that bar fight!

[9equals8.com]

Certainly can't hurt the Mets. Some serious bullpen help if needed there. Personally, I am pulling for a Mets vs. Rays World Series. Even though he's getting up there in years, Reyes can still pitch. The Rays have too many good, young arms and needed to make this move. Bradford was a big upgrade and he'll end up being a key part to the Rays race for the playoffs. Also, David Price is likely to come up, so it was only a matter of time before Reyes went down. I just wonder who goes down when Price comes up (probably Salas or maybe Hammel).

[Bouss]

Met fan here...I'll take him

[Seaver41]

Rays Fans: Congratulations on a wonderful year so far. Now this Mets fan wants to know: Could Reyes help out our bullpen?

[Amanda]

You're are disgusting = you are disgusting. Thought I'd correct it before the typo nazis get it.

[Amanda]

To the fake "Kyle" at 9:13 and 9:18:
I hope you feel pretty awesome about yourself. Yeah, Kyle's overdoing it a bit with the posting and needs to cut back, but making fun of someone trying to raise money to save a child with leukemia? Congratulations, you got your 10 seconds of 'fame' and you got to see your name in print (oh wait no, you didn't have the huevos to use your real name...). Kyle has a good heart and is trying to raise money for a great cause, though going about it in the wrong way. You're, on the other hand, are disgusting.

[Danny]

Jimbo, I got my tickets in the mail. In fact, I got my tickets back in May.

[Danny]

Carl, How is a line of .269 8 home runs and 57 rbi's considered talented? Hinske has better stats than that and he is just a bench player.

[Danny]

Carl, Reyes did nothing for us. If he is as good as you make him out to be, why isnt he still with us? You say without him we wouldnt have won 60 games last year. Give me a break. How is 60 wins going to make him look good. We are better now than we have ever been. And now with him gone, we just got even better. So YOU "grow up and think before you crap all over someone."

[kyle]

PS) if you contact me with your name, address and a credit card # and pay my taxes for the lottery I just won in Uganda I will share 10% of the winnings with you!!!

the Kabaka Yekka Party has taken my great-aunt hostage and this is the only way that we can settle the estate

[kyle]

GO Rays ... I like the Rays!

PS) hey guys, I forgot to mention that I have 4 tickets to the Rays game tonight on the 1st base side ... $25 each .. it's for a good cause ... ME! Oops, hold on ... it's for my dog .. he's got a hang nail and really needs to get to the vet! If you speak out against me you are an animal hater and PETA will get you!
go to craigslist to see where the seats are!

[Jimbo]

Hey Miller, did you go down to their office like I did to pick them up? It says to do that when you sign up for the newsletter. They're right down the street from the Trop, so why not pick them up tonight on your way in? The address is 490 1st Ave S, St. Pete, 33701, so read before you criticize.

[Dave]

On another note a single message about trying to raise funds for a cancer patient isn't a big deal.

Kyle - good luck with your efforts and I'll help where I can.

[Dave]

Edgar - Do you live in Detroit?

Smells like it.

[Dave]

Edgar - Do you live in Detroit?

Smells like it.

[Bill]

Kyle, it's a great cause and I didn't mind you posting it a couple of times......but you posted it over, and over, and over, and over, and over again.......that was what made it spam....not because you did it a couple of times but that you did it too many times. Great cause though.

[Miller]

Hey Jimbo - maybe you should tell your Times friends to get their act together. What happened to my supposedly free Rays tickets I would get for signing up for some of their spam newsletter? Haven't seen anything about that yet in my email box.

If you haven't learned to ignore stuff that bothers you in comment columns, you're going to have a tough time living in the digital age.

[Edgar]

Good riddance to Al Reyes. Big freakin deal if he saved 26 games last year. The reason why is that hitters later figured out how to hit his 80 MPH fastball. It is like saying Cleveland won't had made the playoffs because Joe Borowski saved 40 games with a ERA over 5. Now both Reyes and Borowski don't have jobs right now. Let him go to Detroit and rot with the rest of the stiffs like Casey Fossum and Gary Glover.

[kyle]

already tried your avenue Jimbo. Amazing how no one will return your call when they promise they will. So don't try to guilt me for using every asset available. You should only hope that you too would have people do the same for you.

[Jimbo]

Don't guilt me, kyle. You should pay for advertising like legit businesses do all the time. It's because of people like you that think the paper and/or the internet's free that my friends are forced to retire or getting fired at the Times. I'm sure if you click on the button at the bottom of this page that says "Advertise with Us" someone there can accommodate you. I want to see people stay employed as much as you want your friend to continue to live. We both have needs here, and I think you can appreciate that, so do the respectful thing and pay for your plugs and save someone's job. Besides, you should be able to reach more people who would be willing/able to help save your friend if you're seen on more than just the blogs. Best of both worlds, wouldn't you agree?

Back on topic, I think we may be able to squeak this one out, and as long as we can get 2 of 3, we did great! GO RAYS!

[kyle]

Thanks for the personal attack Jimbo. I thought sports fans would want to know about incredible sports packages. If my post about helping a child with leukemia bothers anyone, then I fully support removing it.
Upton, needs to learn a lesson fully. Not just a game. One game not hustling,can cost you a championship.

[CJ]

Well said Jimbo... GO RAYS!!!

[Carl]

BJ Upton, as he is playing right now, reminds me of a former player on the white sox named Claudell Washington. He played right field, had crazy talent and eased his way thru games. The fans in right started displaying banners which read "washington slept here".

Is Upton partying too much? There were rumors of this when he first came up, especially when they were in NY. Not getting enough sleep? There is something wrong in his personal life. Talent and focus just doesn't drop off like this. He is too talented. I sincerely hope he is OK.

[Carl]

Did I just see BJ Upton get tagged out by a slow first baseman trailing he play? Wow! He needs to wake up.

[Jimbo]

Hey kyle, it is when it's not on-topic and self-promoting. Let's look it up in Merriam-Webster's:

Main Entry:
spam
Pronunciation:
\ˈspam\
Function:
noun
Etymology:
from a skit on the British television series Monty Python's Flying Circus in which chanting of the word Spam overrides the other dialogue
Date:
1994

: unsolicited usually commercial e-mail sent to a large number of addresses

In other words, while it's a noble cause, it's not welcome on a blog about sports. Stay on topic or leave and pay for advertising like legit promoters do. Why not support the paper and pay a few bucks to keeping it, and this site, running, or are you that cheap?!?

Hey Mark, can you block that guy? He's doing this everywhere!

Anyway, back on topic, I'll miss Al. I admit he's been bad this year, but he did wonders for us last year when our bullpen was God-awful. He's the only reason our pen stayed below 7 ERA. Good luck, Al, we thank you for your service!

You can't feel bad for Reyes-he did what he set out to do-get that big contract after being a 1-year wonder

[CJ]

On top of that Kyle, read the terms on the left side of the page "Solicits funds, goods or services, or advertises"

[CJ]

kyle, it is a legit cause, but give it a rest, you are spamming.

[kyle]

Promoting a legit and justified cause is not spamming.
Best of luck to Al.

[JeffC]

Guess there's no need to further comment on the first post for tonight - you guys have it covered.

Reyes came out of the proverbial nowhere to make the club last year, and it's too bad he couldn't have the same success this season.

I wish him the best. Bottom line these days is that baseball's more and more a young man's sport.

[Carl]

so many bullies . . . so little time.

Thanks Razzlegator. I just hate it when someone can't defend themselves while someone takes potshots from the cheap seats.

[Dave]

Nice rip Danny. Way to show your no class skills to the public. Sometimes it is better to say nothing at all. Reyes pitched well for this club and pitched hurt. He gave this team an idea of what it's like to have a guy come in and close a game out. The younger guys on this team learned a lot from Reyes. I hope he lands on his feet.

[Bill]

Quit spamming Kyle.

[kyle]

Reyes did a nice job while he was healthy. Go to this site and help someone who isn't-
www.weekend4ryleigh.blogspot.com
Kenny Chesney tickets, 3 nights at the Tradewinds, Rays suite for 16 people against the Orioles August 30th, Dinner at Outback, Golf for 4 at SP Country Club, Lunch at Ferg's, and Brunch at the Vinoy, and more....$4000 package. Whole Labor Day weekend of fun.
$5 entry. ALL proceeds benefit Ryleigh Russo fund and her fight with Leukemia.

[Razzlegator]

Well said Carl, although you are asking for the impossible.

[Carl]

It's easy to sit on your butt and type in nonsense when someone is down. Have some respect for Reyes. He was a mainstay last season and worked his butt off for us, his personal challenges notwithstanding. He is no reject. So his stuff wasn't as good this year; without him the Rays don't win 60 games last year. Grow up and think before you crap all over someone.

[Ryan Callahan]

He will likely end up in Detroit. Thats where all of our bulllpen rejects go to die. Casey Fossum is already there, and Gary Glover just got called up to the Tigers today. Adios El Assesino.

[Danny]

Good Riddance. I never liked you anyway. Have fun trying to find someone who will want you.