Gary Matthews Jr. opts out of his contract with the Reds

I’ll interrupt all this talk about the upcoming July 31 non-waiver trade deadline to bring you this moment of levity.

According to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer, Gary Matthews Jr. has officially opted out of his contract with the Reds and is now a free agent.

Matthews, who signed a minor league contract with the Reds late last month, was hitting .317/.361/.495 with three home runs and six RBI over his first 101 at-bats with Triple-A Louisville. The Reds had until today to bring him up to the big leagues and chose not to do so.

According to what Matthews’ agent Scott Levanthal told Mark Sheldon of MLB.com, his client will seek a major league contract.

“We’re not going to play Triple-A anywhere else,” Leventhal said. “He has nothing left to prove. He’s a 10-year veteran that spent the last 30 days in Louisville and putting up good numbers.”

The 35-year-old outfielder batted .190/.266/.241 with three extra-base hits and one RBI in 58 at-bats before being released by the Mets on June 15 and has performed below replacement level since 2007. He might be waiting a while for his next gig.