Kubel, Thome Claimed on Waivers

MINNEAPOLIS — They’re both in tonight’s lineup but might not be there for long. The Twins placed both Jim Thome and Jason Kubel on waivers and have been told both have been claimed.

The mystery now lies  in whom it was that did the claiming.

It’s not hard to understand why this has happened. Not only are the Twins officially giving up hope on any chance of a postseason run, the almighty contact dispute comes into the picture.

Kubel is a free agent at the end of the year and was one of three big names the Twins were looking at bringing back. Delmon Young, Micheal Cuddyer and Kubel all need new deals and the Twins were faced with the dilemma of who to pay.

Young was the first to go, he was shipped to Detroit the day Thome hit his 600th homerun.

Cuddyer will most likely not be back after he was ‘insulted’ by the wins offer prior to July’s trade deadline. And now Kubel,

who the Twins signed to a great deal for them a while ago, now seems to be on the move as well. His name was rumored to be a part of deals at the deadline but as we all know know the Twins sat on their hands and didn’t move anybody.

Now they’re doing it the hard way moving Young, and now possibly Thome and Kubel. But don’t be so fast to burn your Kubel jersey’s and sell your Thome home jersey’s on eBay. Just because a player was claimed on waivers doesn’t mean that they are immediatley a part fo that team.

Remember a year ago when the Twins traded for Carl Pavano. They first claimed him on the the waiver wire and then had to make a deal with the Indians to get him. This is what will happen to either Thome, Kubel or both of them. Chances are, one of them stay though.

This is because the waiver wire is as much strategy as it is making a trade. The wire is constructed of teams worst to first. The player then goes down the line and each team gets to either place a claim or pass. The strategy comesi n when a team wants to block a team below them from getting a player.

That is what many believe the Chicago White Sox are doing. It has been widely speculated that the Sox have placed claims on both Twins players to block the Cleveland Indians from placing a claim of their own. Due to the results of yesterday’s games, the Sox are above the Indians in the waiver wire and are making the Indians hurt for it.

Again, this is all speculation. Other teams rumored to have placed claims are the Texas Rangers and new York Yankees; all teams making serious pennant pushes.

One thing isn’t speculation and that’s that Jim Thome and Jason Kubel have been claimed on waivers. The waiting game now ensues as we wait and see who exactly claimed them.