FanHouse ChadMoeller

The Charm City will not have to wait much longer for the most anticipated rookie debut of 2009. The Orioles are planning to call up and start catching prospect Matt Wieters Friday night against the Tigers, Baltimore general manager Andy MacPhail said during MASN's broadcast of Tuesday night's O's-Blue Jays game.

Wieters, currently playing for the Triple-A Norfolk Tides, was widely considered to be the best prospect in baseball entering the 2009 season after he hit .355 with 27 home runs and 91 RBI across two levels last year.

He's done little to douse that optimism so far this season, hitting .285 with a .367 on-base percentage, 15 extra-base hits and 26 RBI in 38 games at Norfolk.

The Yankees officially severed ties with all six of their free agents, opting against offering arbitration to Bobby Abreu, Andy Pettitte, Jason Giambi, Chad Moeller, Sidney Ponson, Ivan Rodriguez and Carl Pavano. For the last four, this was expected, but it wasn't clear until the last minute whether the team would offer to Abreu or Pettitte.

Even if the Yankees extended arbitration, Abreu likely would have refused -- he turns 35 in March and is hoping to strike it rich with what might be his last big multi-year deal. The Yankees would have received two draft picks as compensation had they offered arbitration and Abreu signed elsewhere, but considering he made $16 million last year, they didn't want to take the chance that might accept, especially considering they're already set in the outfield corners without him.

So what happens to Abreu now? Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News reports that he's been in contact with the Mets and Cubs, and now that the risk of giving up a pair of draft picks has been removed from the equation, negotiations could heat up.

Now that the season is underway, there are more important things for the Rays and Yankees to do than rehash their spring training squabbles. The Rays have been showing signs of life on the field, in the stands and at the bar. The Yankees, meanwhile, are struggling at the plate and waiting for some maturity out of their young starters.

Yet, when their series starts at the Trop tonight it will be hard to miss the reminders of the home plate collision heard around the Sunshine State. Mediocre journeyman Chad Moeller will likely be starting behind the plate. That's a result of injuries to Jorge Posada and Jose Molina, of course, but also because of Elliot Johnson's pancaking of Francisco Cervelli. Moeller was signed by the Bombers two days after the collision and it's not hard to guess what prompted his acquisition.

Moeller's lack of lumber won't light any fires in the Yankee lineup but the Rays choice of pregame activities just might. Johnson will be given the Al Lopez Award for top Rays rookie of spring training before the first pitch. It's not like the Rays haven't had a chance to give him the prize, it's their seventh home game, so the choice of date is certainly meant to give a little grief to the boys from New York.

Will they notice? When last seen Hank Steinbrenner was dredging the Hudson after a tugboat captain reported dumping a portrait of Mike Greenwell overboard so it may not be on his radar.