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[Taras Bulba]

Keep thinking Tim's going to make a deal, but the most to be found today is that Conrad and Rodriguez are now on the 40 man.  The Link

[I'm Richies Dad]

It is surprising that the roster is mentioned at 37.  That seems pretty high.  You figure Charton Jimerson's days are numbered, Jason Lane I'd guess as well.

[Greg D]

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Keep thinking Tim's going to make a deal, but the most to be found today is that Conrad and Rodriguez are now on the 40 man.  The Link

As I noted  elsewhere, today was the deadline for setting rosters in advance of the Rule 5 draft on Dec. 7th. With guys like Pence and Reineke not having to be protected this year because of the labor agreement changes, there was room to be protect some more marginal players who'd been left exposed to the Rule 5 in prior years.

Not surprising that Brooks Conrad was one of the two players protected after a very good 2006 season, followed by a terrific stint in the Arizona Fall League. Congrats to Brooks. Will be interesting to see if he can somehow work his way into a utility slot next spring, though absent a trade one would think he'd start out next season again at RR.

[jaklewein]

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Keep thinking Tim's going to make a deal, but the most to be found today is that Conrad and Rodriguez are now on the 40 man.  The Link

As I noted  elsewhere, today was the deadline for setting rosters in advance of the Rule 5 draft on Dec. 7th. With guys like Pence and Reineke not having to be protected this year because of the labor agreement changes, there was room to be protect some more marginal players who'd been left exposed to the Rule 5 in prior years.

Not surprising that Brooks Conrad was one of the two players protected after a very good 2006 season, followed by a terrific stint in the Arizona Fall League. Congrats to Brooks. Will be interesting to see if he can somehow work his way into a utility slot next spring, though absent a trade one would think he'd start out next season again at RR.

Makes me wonder if the probability of Burke being dealt just inched a little higher.

[pravata]

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It is surprising that the roster is mentioned at 37.  That seems pretty high.  You figure Charton Jimerson's days are numbered, Jason Lane I'd guess as well.

Right, because Purpura pulled Lane back from waivers and released Preston Wilson without working some kind of trade because he was planning to leave Lane off the 40.

[CJM]

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It is surprising that the roster is mentioned at 37.  That seems pretty high.  You figure Charton Jimerson's days are numbered, Jason Lane I'd guess as well.

How do you figure 37 players listed on the 40 man roster is high?

[Andyzipp]

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It is surprising that the roster is mentioned at 37.  That seems pretty high.  You figure Charton Jimerson's days are numbered, Jason Lane I'd guess as well.

How do you figure 37 players listed on the 40 man roster is high?

For this time of year, a team might leave itself with a little more flexibility to sign FAs and claim Rule 5 players.

[Lefty]

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For this time of year, a team might leave itself with a little more flexibility to sign FAs and claim Rule 5 players.

Backe's not yet on the 60-day DL, as far as I can tell.  Wandy/Zeke/Borkowski/Jimmerson could be expendable in the right situation, I'd imagine.

[CJM]

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It is surprising that the roster is mentioned at 37.  That seems pretty high.  You figure Charton Jimerson's days are numbered, Jason Lane I'd guess as well.

How do you figure 37 players listed on the 40 man roster is high?

For this time of year, a team might leave itself with a little more flexibility to sign FAs and claim Rule 5 players.

Maybe they could, but 37 is nowhere close to being a high number at this time of year.  Just looking in alphabetical order at the first 4 teams I see the Angels have 39, the A's have 37, the Blue Jays have 37, and the Braves have 39 players on their 40 man roster.

[Andyzipp]

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It is surprising that the roster is mentioned at 37.  That seems pretty high.  You figure Charton Jimerson's days are numbered, Jason Lane I'd guess as well.

How do you figure 37 players listed on the 40 man roster is high?

For this time of year, a team might leave itself with a little more flexibility to sign FAs and claim Rule 5 players.

Maybe they could, but 37 is nowhere close to being a high number at this time of year.  Just looking in alphabetical order at the first 4 teams I see the Angels have 39, the A's have 37, the Blue Jays have 37, and the Braves have 39 players on their 40 man roster.

Not really interested in arguing another person's view point, but of those 4 teams, only the Angels are actively pursuing any free agents.  They also may be very comfortable with signing someone and then making the roster move to accomidate.  The Astros method means they could sign a couple of players before they needed to make any decisions on cooresponding roster moves.

We can probably agree that 37 is not high.

[Jacksonian]

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It is surprising that the roster is mentioned at 37.  That seems pretty high.  You figure Charton Jimerson's days are numbered, Jason Lane I'd guess as well.

How do you figure 37 players listed on the 40 man roster is high?

For this time of year, a team might leave itself with a little more flexibility to sign FAs and claim Rule 5 players.

Maybe they could, but 37 is nowhere close to being a high number at this time of year.  Just looking in alphabetical order at the first 4 teams I see the Angels have 39, the A's have 37, the Blue Jays have 37, and the Braves have 39 players on their 40 man roster.

Not really interested in arguing another person's view point, but of those 4 teams, only the Angels are actively pursuing any free agents.  They also may be very comfortable with signing someone and then making the roster move to accomidate.  The Astros method means they could sign a couple of players before they needed to make any decisions on cooresponding roster moves.

We can probably agree that 37 is not high.

And, of course it means next to nothing in the context of trades.

[Rebel Jew]

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Keep thinking Tim's going to make a deal, but the most to be found today is that Conrad and Rodriguez are now on the 40 man.  The Link

As I noted  elsewhere, today was the deadline for setting rosters in advance of the Rule 5 draft on Dec. 7th. With guys like Pence and Reineke not having to be protected this year because of the labor agreement changes, there was room to be protect some more marginal players who'd been left exposed to the Rule 5 in prior years.

Not surprising that Brooks Conrad was one of the two players protected after a very good 2006 season, followed by a terrific stint in the Arizona Fall League. Congrats to Brooks. Will be interesting to see if he can somehow work his way into a utility slot next spring, though absent a trade one would think he'd start out next season again at RR.

I gotta say that I'm pretty surprised to see Mike Rodriguez protected.  It's been a year+ since I've seen him play, but I saw him sporadically over the course of two seasons and he seemed like a guy who'd hit his ceiling as a AAA outfielder with no real major league skills aside from some average speed.  Has anything changed?

Great to see Conrad getting some attention, however.  Seeing him after seeing Burke for two years was an eye-opener.

[JimR]

his speed is well above average and he is a very good OFer. line drive hitter.

[No? in Austin]

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his speed is well above average and he is a very good OFer. line drive hitter.

Both Conrad and Rodriquez are in the Bruntlett option for major league gigs.  MR is also a fine leadoff hitter.  A little more dicipline and he's a damn fine leadoff hitter.  For now, he's a good candidate for #5 outfielder and protection for drop off production from any of the major league guys.