Vin Mazzaro could be a useful reliever for a lot of teams, but he cleared waivers Tuesday and a couple of executives speculated that part of the reason for that is Mazzaro makes more than minimum wage -- $950,000.
"Once you go to spring training, you’ve spent almost all the money you’re going to spend," said one GM. "There aren’t many teams with a lot of extra money lying around."
Maybe the Dodgers have a big budget, or the Yankees. But most teams have little wiggle room in their budget. Which brings us to Stephen Drew and Kendrys Morales, two veteran free agents who remain unemployed.
To review: Both players -- represented by agent Scott Boras -- rejected $14.1 million qualifying offers from the Boston Red Sox and Seattle Mariners, respectively, and continue to wait. And wait. And wait.
There might be one small upside to waiting this long. Now that the season has started, neither can be given another qualifying offer by the next team he signs with, which means each could be a free agent without restriction after the 2014 season.