Tampa Bay Rays designate Kyle Farnsworth for assignment

With a five word post on Twitter, the Kyle Farnsworth era ended with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Obviously, Marc Topkin’s reporting of the news wasn’t the “official” end to Farnsworth’s tenure in Tampa Bay, but it was the initial report of his downfall. Farnsworth was DFA’d to make room for pitcher Jose Lueke on the roster, but the move to get rid of the veteran right-hander was clearly a product of his lackluster production.

After a monster 2011 season (that came out of nowhere) with the Rays that saw him save 25 games with a sparkling 2.18 ERA, Farnsworth has fallen off of the cliff. In 2012, the numbers weren’t exactly awful (4.00 ERA) but his walk rate climbed to an unacceptable 4.67 per 9 innings, and in 2013, his performance crossed past the same line of unacceptability. For the year, the 37-year-old has a 5.76 ERA, and while he solved the walk issue (lowering his rate to 2.12 BB/9), his ability to strike hitters out has vanished to the tune of only 5.76 strikeouts per 9 innings.

With all of those numbers, the fact is simple that the Rays had become weary of his shakiness in an otherwise solid bullpen. I’m sure it wasn’t an easy decision to jettison a healthy veteran in the middle of a pennant race, but with the tremendous reputation of both that manager and front office, they likely felt as if Lueke was more likely to help the team win this season.

For Farnsworth, it’s time to look around the league for a soft landing spot.