Feldman Placed On Waivers

Per Robothal. This was a procedural move made with the intention of outrighting Feldman to Triple-A Round Rock, as Feldman was out of minor league options -- what this means is that Feldman, by virtue of having amassed five years of major league service time, had the ability to reject such an assignment and become a free agent while still being guaranteed the entirety of his contract, which amounts to a little more than $9 million total.

However, it appears that there was a preexisting handshake agreement where Feldman agreed to not opt for free agency and accept the assignment to the minors, so he'll hang around in the minors and perhaps get an opportunity to make his presence felt at some point down the line.

And, of course, it's extremely unlikely that any team would saddle themselves with a $9 million commitment to Feldman, given that he's coming off microfracture surgery and given that he doesn't seem to be the same pitcher that he was in 2009.

Ron Washington spoke more about the thought process behind the move on Ben and Skin this morning:

"There's an old saying, if it ain't broke, don't fix it," Washington told 103.3 FM's Ben and Skin Show. "We decided that we would stay with [Derek] Holland in the rotation for now. We want to make sure that we have someone stretched out in case something happens." 

"All five starters are still strong, [and] the bullpen is getting it together. We're going to be making moves here pretty soon, and Scott Feldman will be a part of those moves when we're able to sort some things a little more."