On Saturday, Jerry Manuel said that Gary Sheffield (back spasms) likely will not play again this season. It’s kind of strange when you consider that the Mets had an opportunity to get something in return for Sheffield on August 20th when he was claimed on waivers by the San Francisco Giants.
The Giants were in the market for a righthanded bat off the bench, a role that Sheffield could have certainly filled.
The Los Angeles Dodgers had just traded two minor league prospects to the Nationals for Ronnie Belliard who was only batting .246 with 6 HR and 24 RBIs. So you would have expected at least as much for Sheffield who was batting .280 with 10 HR and 40 RBIs.
Sheffield was upset when he learned that he could have finished the season playing for a contender and could have helped his chances to play one more season in 2010 with the added exposure.
Instead, the Mets chose to pull him off waivers. Since August 21st, Sheffield has started just two games and he is now finished for the season.
He is a Class B free agent, but the Mets will not get anything in return for him as they will not offer him arbitration.
What a comedy of errors…
