Carlos

Hines

Hines was designated for assignment Wednesday to make room for Scott Dunn on the 40-man roster.

We probably would have taken our chances with Hines over Scott Dunn, but neither figures to develop into more than an average reliever and it’s possible the Rays will get to have both. Hines, 25, had a 3.28 ERA in 35 2/3 innings for Triple-A Durham last season. He’s got a good fastball, but he’ll need his slider to become a second plus pitch if he’s going to help Tampa Bay.

Hines didn’t have anything to eat after giving blood for his pyhsical on Friday morning, making him more vulnerable to being overcome by the heat. Lesson learned. He’ll probably be back working out in a day or two.

Hines, 25, had a 3.28 ERA in 35 2/3 innings for Triple-A Durham last season. He had a 1.80 ERA in 10 innings for the same club this year. The right-hander was just on waivers three weeks ago, but the Giants and evey other team decided he wasn’t worthy of a 40-man roster spot. Now that he doesn’t require one, he’s a little more valuable. Maybe he’ll be an adequate 12th pitcher if needed.