It would seem that any predictions of Scott Feldman coming to the rescue of the Rangers rotation were premature.
The team placed Feldman on outright waivers Wednesday morning, a move first reported by Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports. Despite the rather ominous sound of outright waivers, there's not much chance Feldman will be leaving the organization.
He made his final rehab start on Sunday, which meant the team had three choices about how to move forward. They could leave Feldman on the 60-day disabled list, although that probably wouldn't sit well with Feldman or the players association. That leaves them with the choice of putting him on the active roster or, because he's out of minor league options, putting him on waivers for the purpose of sending him to Round Rock.
Any other team that wants Feldman could snap him up off the waiver wire, but that isn't a particularly likely development. He's making $4.4 million this year, is due $6.5 million next year and has a club option for 2013. It is hard to believe that another team would want to pick up that kind of salary obligation for a pitcher with one good season as a starter under his belt.
Feldman will also have to approve the move to the minors, but that is a formality. People don't tend to walk away from $10 million when they have no offers in that neighborhood heading their way.
While Feldman will almost certainly remain an option for the Rangers if they want to shake up the big league staff, Derek Holland should feel pretty good about this development. Feldman won't be replacing him in the rotation in the near future, Brandon Webb isn't going to replace him at any time and the team hasn't yet found another option that's a clear upgrade.
They'll probably keep looking, though, because Feldman was not the only fish in the sea.
