The Rangers have purchased the contract of Steve Karsay, and have designated Ron Mahay for assignment.
Mahay has been awful this year, and there was an article or two a while back that suggested that Mahay could be put on the waiver wire because the Rangers thought he would go unclaimed. As far as I can determine, Mahay doesn't have the service time necessary to reject an outright assignment without forfeiting the remainder of his 2005 salary, plus the roughly $1 million he is owed for 2006, so if he clears, he'll likely be given the chance to try to straighten things out in AAA.
I'm disappointed in the decision to send Mahay out, mainly because Mahay has a good story, and was a very productive reliever for the Rangers the previous two seasons. I have to wonder if it wouldn't have made more sense to just put him on the d.l. until rosters expand in September, let him go on a rehab later in August and try to work things out that way, but it may be that the Rangers think he can't be salvaged and are hoping someone takes him off their hands.
Karsay was a terrific reliever for a few years, signed a big deal with the Yankees, got hurt, and was released by the Yanks earlier this season when they got tired of waiting on him. I liked the Rangers adding him on a minor league deal, and after struggling in Frisco earlier this year, he seems to have been pitching much better of late. Hopefully, he's still got some gas in the tank...it is too late for this year, but if he shows something, he may be someone we can bring back for 2006.