Twins release Rich Harden

Rich Harden requested and was granted his official release from the Twins organization. The right-hander had been continuing to rehab his surgically-repaired right shoulder, attempting yet another comeback. As Mike Berardino points out, Harden had an out clause in his contract with which he could request his release if he wasn’t on the Major League roster by July 31. It was obvious that was not going to happen with just a few days to spare.

More, via Darren Wolfson:

Lowdown on Rich Harden, who asked to be let go: won’t pitch again in 2013. Does want to pitch in 2014. Told #MNTwins treated him very well.

— Darren Wolfson (@DarrenWolfson) July 28, 2013

Harden has not pitched at any level since September 2011 when he was with the Athletics. He made his 2011 debut on July 1, and in his 15 starts until the end of the season, he posted a 5.12 ERA. He will be 32 years old when the 2014 season begins.

The Padres fired manager Andy Green on Saturday, per an official team release. Bench coach Rod Barajas will step into the position for the remaining eight games of the 2019 season.

Executive Vice President and GM A.J. Preller gave a statement in the wake of Green’s dismissal:

I want to thank Andy for his tireless work and dedication to the Padres over the last four seasons. This was an incredibly difficult decision, but one we felt was necessary at this time to take our organization to the next level and expedite the process of bringing a championship to San Diego. Our search for a new manager will begin immediately.

In additional comments made to reporters, Preller added that the decision had not been made based on the Padres’ current win-loss record (a fourth-place 69-85 in the NL West), but rather on the lack of response coming from the team.

“Looking at the performance, looking at it from an improvement standing, we haven’t seen the team respond in the last few months,” Preller said. “When you get to the point where you’re questioning where things are headed … we have to make that call.”

Since his hiring in October 2015, Green has faced considerable challenges on the Padres’ long and winding path to postseason contention. He shepherded San Diego through four consecutive losing seasons, drawing a career 274-366 record as the club extended their streak to 13 seasons without a playoff appearance. And, despite some definite strides in the right direction — including an eight-year, $144 million pact with Eric Hosmer, a 10-year, $300 million pact with superstar Manny Machado, and the development of top prospect Fernando Tatís Jr. — lingering injuries and inexplicable slumps from key players stalled the rebuild longer than the Padres would have liked.

For now, they’ll prepare to roll the dice with a new skipper in 2020, though any potential candidates have yet to be identified for the role. It won’t come cheap, either, as Green inked a four-year extension back in 2017 — one that should have seen him through the team’s 2021 campaign.