Nothing would please me more than another AL East team picking him up:
Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com added that Rays team physician Koko Eaton examined Balfour in Tampa on Friday and performed a MRI on the pitcher's throwing shoulder, coming away surprised that the Orioles backed out of the deal.
?The MRI that I did on him today looked exactly the same as the MRI I did three years ago,? Eaton told the website. "It did not look normal compared to a person who does not play baseball for a living. But for someone who plays baseball for a living, it looked normal. There are abnormalities on the MRI as there are on every single baseball player?s. But three years ago, there was no issue, and he had pretty good performance when he was with Oakland.?
If Balfour doesn't sign with Tampa, expect several others to show interest in the proven closer. On Friday, Jim Duquette of MLB Network mentioned the Mariners, White Sox and Yankees as three teams that "need closers and would benefit with Balfour closing out games."