Padres C Bard, LHP Estes clear waivers, elect free agency

Oct 6, 2008 - 11:41 PM SAN DIEGO (Ticker) -- San Diego Padres catcher Josh Bard and starting pitcher Shawn Estes have both cleared outright waivers and elected for free agency, the team announced on Monday.

Bard began this season as the Padres' starting catcher, but suffered a severely sprained left ankle in May that forced him to miss nearly two months. He also missed 2 1/2 weeks with a strained right triceps and ended up playing in just 57 games, hitting .202 with one homer and 16 RBI.

Estes has had an injury-riddled career and has appeared in just 10 games since 2005 with major elbow injuries. The lefthander started eight games for San Diego in 2008, going 2-3 with a 3.91 ERA.

Meanwhile, righthanded reliever Dirk Hayhurst was claimed off waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays. He struggled last year - his first MLB campaign - going 0-2 with a 9.72 ERA in 10 games.

The Padres also assigned catcher Luke Carlin and infielder Sean Kazmar to Class AAA Portland.