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Roger Mooney

Roger Mooney covers the Tampa Bay Rays for The Tampa Tribune, TBO.com and News Channel 8. He has covered the Rays since their first season in 1998, including 11 years for the Bradenton Herald. Roger has also covered Florida, South Florida and Florida State football, the Bucs and the Lightning.

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Upton feels he won’t be back next season

Posted Aug 27, 2011 by Roger Mooney

Updated Aug 27, 2011 at 12:19 PM

ROGER MOONEY
TORONTO The news that he has been reportedly claimed on waivers is further proof to B.J. Upton that his days as a Ray are coming to a close.

Upton, who makes $4.825 million this year and will go through arbitration again this offseason, said he feels he will be traded after the season, figuring he’s priced himself out of the Rays future just as Matt Garza and Jason Bartlett did last offseason.

“I hope not, but I don’t see why I wouldn’t be with all the talks at the deadline, and with this (waiver claim), I don’t see why there wouldn’t be that possibility,” he said. “I don’t want to go anywhere, but if that’s what they want to do it’s out of my hands.”

Upton acted stunned by the report that he was claimed on waivers by an undisclosed team.

“Have I?” he said when asked about it this morning.

Andrew Friedman would neither confirm nor deny the report, but a number of Rays have been reportedly placed on waivers this month, including Johnny Damon, Kyle Farnsworth and James Shields. The Rays have the option of working out a trade with the team who claimed him or pulling off waivers. That is a popular move around baseball in the month after the non-waiver trade deadline as GMs try to keep their rosters fluid.

Upton, the subject of numerous trade rumors before the July 31 deadline, would have to be moved by Monday afternoon.

“I ain’t worried about it. If it happens it happens,” Upton said. “Just like the trade deadline. It’s business as usual and I guess we’ll see what happens in 48 hours.”