Devil Rays 3, Florida 1. (Quick Note: What is wrong with Casey Fossum’s arm in this picture? Is it us, or does it look like it he does not have an elbow? Does this explain why his most effective pitch is the 45 mph Fossum Flop? Yes we like the name “Fossum Flop” much better than “Fossum Flip”.) Both Dioner Navarro and Jae Seo made their debuts for the Rays last night. Navarro was in the starting lineup and batted 8th. He was 0-2 with 2 walks. Our first thoughts on Navarro? The is big. We do see the similarity with Ivan Rodriguez, which is the origin of Navarro’s nickname “Pudgito” or “Little Pudge”. But there is a distinct difference. This kid is much bigger than Pudge from the knees to the chest. Navarro has some of the biggest legs we have ever seen on a baseball player. Seo also made an appearance out of the bullpen. He relieved Fossum in the 6th and pitched 2 scoreless innings, allowing 1 hit and 2 walks. Our first thoughts on Seo? Well, he needs a new tailor. The guys over at Uniwatch noticed right away that Seo’s nameplate was upside down (it curved up instead of down). We also noticed, that for some reason Seo is going with the number 98. In Japan and his stints with the Mets and Los Angeles, Seo wore the number 26. Needless to say, we don’t think Seo will be able to pry 26 from Kid K. But 98? 98 is a number worn by non-roster invitees in Spring Training. Well, it seemed to work for him last night. As for pitching out of the bullpen…Seo is scheduled to be the starting pitcher on Sunday. Joe Maddon did indicate before the game that Seo would be available from the bullpen and that it would not affect his scheduled start on Sunday since Seo has been pitching relief in Los Angeles.
The Devil Rays have the day off today as they travel to D. C. to play the Nationals.

Turn that frown upside-down [Uniwatch]

Devil Rays 3, Florida 1. (Quick Note: What is wrong with Casey Fossum’s arm in this picture? Is it us, or does it look like it he does not have an elbow? Does this explain why his most effective pitch is the 45 mph Fossum Flop? Yes we like the name “Fossum Flop” much better than “Fossum Flip”.) Both Dioner Navarro and Jae Seo made their debuts for the Rays last night. Navarro was in the starting lineup and batted 8th. He was 0-2 with 2 walks. Our first thoughts on Navarro? The is big. We do see the similarity with Ivan Rodriguez, which is the origin of Navarro’s nickname “Pudgito” or “Little Pudge”. But there is a distinct difference. This kid is much bigger than Pudge from the knees to the chest. Navarro has some of the biggest legs we have ever seen on a baseball player. Seo also made an appearance out of the bullpen. He relieved Fossum in the 6th and pitched 2 scoreless innings, allowing 1 hit and 2 walks. Our first thoughts on Seo? Well, he needs a new tailor. The guys over at Uniwatch noticed right away that Seo’s nameplate was upside down (it curved up instead of down). We also noticed, that for some reason Seo is going with the number 98. In Japan and his stints with the Mets and Los Angeles, Seo wore the number 26. Needless to say, we don’t think Seo will be able to pry 26 from Kid K. But 98? 98 is a number worn by non-roster invitees in Spring Training. Well, it seemed to work for him last night. As for pitching out of the bullpen…Seo is scheduled to be the starting pitcher on Sunday. Joe Maddon did indicate before the game that Seo would be available from the bullpen and that it would not affect his scheduled start on Sunday since Seo has been pitching relief in Los Angeles.
The Devil Rays have the day off today as they travel to D. C. to play the Nationals.

Turn that frown upside-down [Uniwatch]

A couple of weeks ago we commented on the recent trade rumors involving Carl Crawford. At the time we talked at length about why it might be a very beneficial to trade a player that is young (24), signed through 2010 at a reasonable rate, and a future All-Star. In short, the Devil Rays do not have a more valuable piece (other than Scott Kazmir) at a position that could potentially be filled from within. A player like C. C. would command a hefty price on the trading market. The main team said to have inquired about C. C. is the Anaheim Los Angeles Angels (with Detroit and Colorado also rumored). The proposal involved Ervin Santana, one of the best young pitchers in the American League and possibly one or two minor league prospects.

What we did not say at the time and we should have made clear, is that while we understand the reasoning behind trading Crawford, we think the chance of Crawford being moved before the trading deadline is highly unlikely. In fact there is a better chance of the Devil Rays rehiring Chuck LaMar . We would be shocked if Crawford is not playing for Tampa Bay for the next four or five years. There are several reasons for this…

1. The Devil Rays have a plan. That plan is the same for most small-market teams. Develop young talent and then lock them up to long-term deals that span their arbitration years and their first few years of free agency. It benefits the player who may only be making the major league minimum their first few years, and benefits the team with below market salaries later in the contract if the player turns into a stud. In this case, Crawford fits that mold perfectly and it would not make sense for the Devil Rays to trade him.

2. The recent troubles of minor league prospects Delmon Young and Elijah Dukes as well as the recent trade sending Joey Gathright to the Royals, shows that the teams depth at outfield may not be what many thought it was.

3. This is the most important point…What exactly would C. C. command in a trade? Presumably Ervin Santana and a couple of minor leaguers was not enough and it probably should not be. So if the team was to trade Crawford, what would it take to pry him off the hands of Tampa? A couple of names come to mind…Dontrelle Willis and C. C. Sabathia (C. C. for C. C.?). This is not to say that the Marlins or Indians have any interest in Crawford, but this is the type of player that it would take, and we just can’t see a trade like that happening. It would take a young pitcher that has already proved it at the major league level with the potential to be an All-Star year-in and year-out. Those type of trades don’t happen very often. The Mets have been trying to trade for Barry Zito for two years.

While trade rumors and proposals are floating around in the Blogosphere, we hope and expect them to experience the same fate of most rumors…a quick and painless death, while #13 continues to roam the left field of the Trop and cause havoc on the basepaths.

• Evan Longoria. In his first week of professional games, Longoria is making the Devil Rays look good with their selection of the infielder with the 4th pick in this year’s draft. In 7 games, Longoria has 14 hits and is batting .452 with 4 home runs and 11 RBI. In his first week, he has a 5-6 game and last night he was 3-4 with 2 home runs and 5 RBI. And while it is still early, he has an impressive 4:3 strikeout to walk ratio. Andrew Friedman has stated that the plan is to have Longoria play the entire season at Hudson Valley, and manager Joe Maddon is on the record as saying that the team’s prospects need to prove themselves at each level before they will be promoted. It will be interesting to see if the team moves up the timetable for Longoria if he continues to dominate the single A New York-Penn league.
• Jeff Niemann. Niemann made his second start of the 2006 season Sunday. The team continues to bring him back slowly as Niemann only worked four innings picking up his second loss. He allowed 3 hits, 2 walks and 3 runs, while striking out 5. The Biscuits have yet to score a run in Niemann’s starts.
• Delmon Young. Young has picked up right where left off, following his 50-game suspension. In 7 games he is 9-24 (.375). Unfortunately he still hasn’t shown the power this season that is expected from him. In those 7 games, he has 1 extra-base hit (double) and 4 RBI. In 27 games Young has only 5 extra-base hits (4 doubles and 1 triple). No home runs must be a reason for concern for the Devil Rays brass. Delmon had 26 home runs between Montgomery and Durham last season and is considered one of the better power prospects in the minors.
• J. P. Howell. Howell was scheduled to make his second start for the Durham Bulls last night, but the game was rained out. Look for Howell to be on the mound for today’s double-header.
• Juan Salas. The minor league player we want most to see playing in the Trop? B. J.? No… Delmon? No… Jeff Niemann? No…The player we want in the majors more than anybody is Juan Salas. Another week for Salas and another week not allowing any runs. The converted infielder can hit the upper 90s with a fastball that has been labeled as a “natural cutter”. Since his promotion to Durham, Salas has pitched 7 innings in 5 appearances, allowing 2 hits and 4 walks, while striking out 8. We understand that Salas has only been in Durham for two weeks, and the team does not want to rush him, but what are they waiting for? He does walk batters a little more than you would like, but it seems like nobody can hit him. In 41.2 innings this season, he has allowed 15 (!) hits. The Devil Rays need help in the bullpen. Juan Salas is that help.
• Other Notes. Kevin Witt continues to lead the International League in home runs and RBI with 19 and 53. He is hitting .297 and has major league experience. Look for Witt to share time with Ty Wiggington at first base if and when Travis Lee is traded…B. J. Upton leads the IL in stolen bases with 30, but has been caught 13 times. He is hitting .264-5-31…2B Eliot Johnson is hitting .290-10-30 with 11 doubles, 7 triples and 13 stolen bases at Montgomery…SS Reid Brignac is 3rd in the California League with a .334 batting average, and is 4th in home runs with 14…Jacob McGee and Wade Davis are 1-2 in the Midwest League with 108 and 101 strikeouts respectively.

A couple of weeks ago we commented on the recent trade rumors involving Carl Crawford. At the time we talked at length about why it might be a very beneficial to trade a player that is young (24), signed through 2010 at a reasonable rate, and a future All-Star. In short, the Devil Rays do not have a more valuable piece (other than Scott Kazmir) at a position that could potentially be filled from within. A player like C. C. would command a hefty price on the trading market. The main team said to have inquired about C. C. is the Anaheim Los Angeles Angels (with Detroit and Colorado also rumored). The proposal involved Ervin Santana, one of the best young pitchers in the American League and possibly one or two minor league prospects.

What we did not say at the time and we should have made clear, is that while we understand the reasoning behind trading Crawford, we think the chance of Crawford being moved before the trading deadline is highly unlikely. In fact there is a better chance of the Devil Rays rehiring Chuck LaMar . We would be shocked if Crawford is not playing for Tampa Bay for the next four or five years. There are several reasons for this…

1. The Devil Rays have a plan. That plan is the same for most small-market teams. Develop young talent and then lock them up to long-term deals that span their arbitration years and their first few years of free agency. It benefits the player who may only be making the major league minimum their first few years, and benefits the team with below market salaries later in the contract if the player turns into a stud. In this case, Crawford fits that mold perfectly and it would not make sense for the Devil Rays to trade him.

2. The recent troubles of minor league prospects Delmon Young and Elijah Dukes as well as the recent trade sending Joey Gathright to the Royals, shows that the teams depth at outfield may not be what many thought it was.

3. This is the most important point…What exactly would C. C. command in a trade? Presumably Ervin Santana and a couple of minor leaguers was not enough and it probably should not be. So if the team was to trade Crawford, what would it take to pry him off the hands of Tampa? A couple of names come to mind…Dontrelle Willis and C. C. Sabathia (C. C. for C. C.?). This is not to say that the Marlins or Indians have any interest in Crawford, but this is the type of player that it would take, and we just can’t see a trade like that happening. It would take a young pitcher that has already proved it at the major league level with the potential to be an All-Star year-in and year-out. Those type of trades don’t happen very often. The Mets have been trying to trade for Barry Zito for two years.

While trade rumors and proposals are floating around in the Blogosphere, we hope and expect them to experience the same fate of most rumors…a quick and painless death, while #13 continues to roam the left field of the Trop and cause havoc on the basepaths.

• Evan Longoria. In his first week of professional games, Longoria is making the Devil Rays look good with their selection of the infielder with the 4th pick in this year’s draft. In 7 games, Longoria has 14 hits and is batting .452 with 4 home runs and 11 RBI. In his first week, he has a 5-6 game and last night he was 3-4 with 2 home runs and 5 RBI. And while it is still early, he has an impressive 4:3 strikeout to walk ratio. Andrew Friedman has stated that the plan is to have Longoria play the entire season at Hudson Valley, and manager Joe Maddon is on the record as saying that the team’s prospects need to prove themselves at each level before they will be promoted. It will be interesting to see if the team moves up the timetable for Longoria if he continues to dominate the single A New York-Penn league.
• Jeff Niemann. Niemann made his second start of the 2006 season Sunday. The team continues to bring him back slowly as Niemann only worked four innings picking up his second loss. He allowed 3 hits, 2 walks and 3 runs, while striking out 5. The Biscuits have yet to score a run in Niemann’s starts.
• Delmon Young. Young has picked up right where left off, following his 50-game suspension. In 7 games he is 9-24 (.375). Unfortunately he still hasn’t shown the power this season that is expected from him. In those 7 games, he has 1 extra-base hit (double) and 4 RBI. In 27 games Young has only 5 extra-base hits (4 doubles and 1 triple). No home runs must be a reason for concern for the Devil Rays brass. Delmon had 26 home runs between Montgomery and Durham last season and is considered one of the better power prospects in the minors.
• J. P. Howell. Howell was scheduled to make his second start for the Durham Bulls last night, but the game was rained out. Look for Howell to be on the mound for today’s double-header.
• Juan Salas. The minor league player we want most to see playing in the Trop? B. J.? No… Delmon? No… Jeff Niemann? No…The player we want in the majors more than anybody is Juan Salas. Another week for Salas and another week not allowing any runs. The converted infielder can hit the upper 90s with a fastball that has been labeled as a “natural cutter”. Since his promotion to Durham, Salas has pitched 7 innings in 5 appearances, allowing 2 hits and 4 walks, while striking out 8. We understand that Salas has only been in Durham for two weeks, and the team does not want to rush him, but what are they waiting for? He does walk batters a little more than you would like, but it seems like nobody can hit him. In 41.2 innings this season, he has allowed 15 (!) hits. The Devil Rays need help in the bullpen. Juan Salas is that help.
• Other Notes. Kevin Witt continues to lead the International League in home runs and RBI with 19 and 53. He is hitting .297 and has major league experience. Look for Witt to share time with Ty Wiggington at first base if and when Travis Lee is traded…B. J. Upton leads the IL in stolen bases with 30, but has been caught 13 times. He is hitting .264-5-31…2B Eliot Johnson is hitting .290-10-30 with 11 doubles, 7 triples and 13 stolen bases at Montgomery…SS Reid Brignac is 3rd in the California League with a .334 batting average, and is 4th in home runs with 14…Jacob McGee and Wade Davis are 1-2 in the Midwest League with 108 and 101 strikeouts respectively.

Major League Baseball just announced that the deal to send Toby Hall and Mark Hendrickson to the Dodgers has been finalized. Tampa receives catcher Dioner Navarro, right handed pitcher Jae Seo and a player to be named later.

Navarro was one of the prospects the Dodgers received in the three-way trade that sent Randy Johnson to the Yankees and Shawn Green to the Diamondbacks. Navarro is young (22) and is considered a very strong defensive catcher, that is yet to develop as a hitter. He was named the Yankees 2003 minor league player of the year after splitting the season between Tampa and Trenton where he hit .341 with 3 home runs in 58 games. He was considered the Dodger’s catcher of the future and had played 25 games in Dodger Blue this season batting .280 with 2 home runs and was considered expendable with the emergence of Russell Martin. Navarro recently spent a stint on the DL with a bone bruise in his wrist and when he was activated was optioned to AAA Las Vegas where his hitting .175 in 11 games.

Seo, 29 was traded to the Dodgers this past off-season after spending parts of the past 3 seasons with the Mets. This season he was 2-4 with a 5.78 ERA in 10 starts (19 appearances) with the Dodgers and had recently been demoted to the bullpen. Last season for the Mets he showed signs of brilliance, going 8-2 with a 2.59 ERA in 14 starts after a mid-season call-up.

As we stated earlier today, we understand the logic behind this trade. Both Hendrickson and Hall are arbitration eligible at the end of the season, which means the team will save $8-12 million in salary in 2007 that can be used to bring in one or two free agent pitchers. We are a bit concerned about the young pitching staff working without a veteran behind the plate. On the other hand, catcher is the one position where the Devil Rays lack a strong major league prospect. Trading for Navarro gives Tampa their starting catcher for the next 10 years. The addition of Seo makes the trade a more palatable. Seo has a bigger upside than Hendrickson although he has struggled this season. If Seo can rediscover his form from 2005, this deal could end up being a steal for the Rays.

As for the “player to be named later”…the Dodger’s most likely gave the Devil Rays a list of 3-5 minor leaguers, and the Rays have a certain number of weeks to scout those players and determine which one they want. Look for this player to be a low-level minor leaguer with marginal major league potential.

Rays acquire Navarro and Seo from the Dodgers [mlb.com]

Major League Baseball just announced that the deal to send Toby Hall and Mark Hendrickson to the Dodgers has been finalized. Tampa receives catcher Dioner Navarro, right handed pitcher Jae Seo and a player to be named later.

Navarro was one of the prospects the Dodgers received in the three-way trade that sent Randy Johnson to the Yankees and Shawn Green to the Diamondbacks. Navarro is young (22) and is considered a very strong defensive catcher, that is yet to develop as a hitter. He was named the Yankees 2003 minor league player of the year after splitting the season between Tampa and Trenton where he hit .341 with 3 home runs in 58 games. He was considered the Dodger’s catcher of the future and had played 25 games in Dodger Blue this season batting .280 with 2 home runs and was considered expendable with the emergence of Russell Martin. Navarro recently spent a stint on the DL with a bone bruise in his wrist and when he was activated was optioned to AAA Las Vegas where his hitting .175 in 11 games.

Seo, 29 was traded to the Dodgers this past off-season after spending parts of the past 3 seasons with the Mets. This season he was 2-4 with a 5.78 ERA in 10 starts (19 appearances) with the Dodgers and had recently been demoted to the bullpen. Last season for the Mets he showed signs of brilliance, going 8-2 with a 2.59 ERA in 14 starts after a mid-season call-up.

As we stated earlier today, we understand the logic behind this trade. Both Hendrickson and Hall are arbitration eligible at the end of the season, which means the team will save $8-12 million in salary in 2007 that can be used to bring in one or two free agent pitchers. We are a bit concerned about the young pitching staff working without a veteran behind the plate. On the other hand, catcher is the one position where the Devil Rays lack a strong major league prospect. Trading for Navarro gives Tampa their starting catcher for the next 10 years. The addition of Seo makes the trade a more palatable. Seo has a bigger upside than Hendrickson although he has struggled this season. If Seo can rediscover his form from 2005, this deal could end up being a steal for the Rays.

As for the “player to be named later”…the Dodger’s most likely gave the Devil Rays a list of 3-5 minor leaguers, and the Rays have a certain number of weeks to scout those players and determine which one they want. Look for this player to be a low-level minor leaguer with marginal major league potential.

Rays acquire Navarro and Seo from the Dodgers [mlb.com]

The Devil Rays have already made one trade sending Joey Gathright to the Royals for a promising pitching prospect, J. P. Howell. There are also rumors that several teams (Angels, Rockies, others?) are pursuing Carl Crawford (more on that later). In addition, the Rays have several veterans that are slated to be free agents at the end of the season, including Aubrey Huff, Julio Lugo and Travis Lee. Now the Tampa Tribune is reporting that the Rays are close to completing a deal that would send Mark Hendrickson and Toby Hall to the Dodgers for catching prospect Dioner Navarro.

Navarro was one of the prospects sent to the Dodgers in the three-way trade that sent Randy Johnson to the Yankees and Shawn Green to the Diamondbacks. Navarro is young (22) and is considered a very strong defensive catcher, that is yet to develop as a hitter. He was named the Yankees 2003 minor league player of the year after splitting the season between Tampa and Trenton where he hit .341 with 3 home runs in 58 games. He is considered the Dodger’s catcher of the future and has played 25 games in Dodger Blue this season batting .280 with 2 home runs. Navarro is considered expendable with the emergence of Russell Martin. Navarro recently spent a stint on the DL with a bone bruise in his foot and when he was activated was optioned to AAA Las Vegas where his hitting .175 in 11 games.

The question is…Is Hall and Hendrickson too big a price to pay for a catching prospect? We have no trouble trading Hendrickson, who just turned 32, and would be considered to be worth a lot on the trade market as a left handed starter who eats up innings and has a strong ERA if not a record to reflect how well he has pitched this season. His contract for this season is reasonable at approximately $2 million. The problem is Hendrickson is arbitration eligible at the end of the season and likely would command a hefty raise. Toby Hall is in a similar boat making slightly more this season ($2.3 million) and is also arbitration eligible at the end of the season. We can’t see Hall increasing his salary too much, but he will command a raise. Where our concern lies is in how the loss of Huff will affect the pitching staff. A pitching staff as young as the Rays’ with the likes of Kid K, James Shields, Tim Corcoran, Edwin Jackson and company, needs a veteran presence behind the plate. In addition, Hall is starting to develop into a solid offensive contributor. He will never be an all-star at the plate, but we can see him becoming a .280-20-80 hitter. Then again, Hall is 31 himself, and his shelf-life as a catcher we begin to decline in the next couple of years. But by then, the staff will have matured

So…is Hendrickson and Hall too big a price? Hard to say. The team will save a lot of money from the 2007 payroll. We would guess that team would save $8-12 million by moving both players, which could be used to bring in one or two veteran pitchers. The other reason this trade makes sense, is that catcher is the one position in the minors that the Devil Rays lack a strong major league prospect. Navarro would likely immediately step in and become the Rays’ starting catcher for the next decade. The move would make more sense if the team can bring in a veteran backup catcher for the 2007 season at a cheap price.

Of course there could be a small bidding war for Hendrickson and Hall. The Yankees have shown interest in Hall, having scouted him several times. Now that Vince Naimoli is no longer running the team, there is a better chance of the Rays and Yankees working together, considering the animosity between George Steinbrenner and Naimoli. However, we find it hard to believe that the Yankees can generate a package that would be strong enough to entice the Tampa Brass.

So then who is next if this trade goes through? The logical and obvious choices are Huff and Lugo and to a lesser extent, Travis Lee. Huff has started his traditional second half surge in the last couple of weeks, in which he has raised his average from below the Mendoza Line to .242, batting .325 in June after a .175 May and .182 April. Huff and Lugo have been the object of other team’s affections for over a year and will be moved before the July 31 trading deadline. Huff could be a target for the Detroit Tigers who could use a DH. Moving Lugo (several teams are interested) would open the door for B. J. ‘Don’t Call Me Melvin’ Upton. The team needs to see if Upton is a Major League shortstop and could use the second half of this season to make that determination. His bat and speed are ready, and need to be in the bigs. The wildcard is Travis Lee. Lee could command a mid-level minor league prospect from a contending team, looking for a solid defensive first baseman that could come off the bench late in games (N
ew York Yankees?).

As the calendar is about to turn to July, the next 5 weeks could be the busiest trading month ever for this young franchise. The new regime has already shown that they are not afraid to pull the trigger on a trade and we would not be surprised if on August 1st, Lugo, Huff, Hendrickson, Hall and Lee are all playing elsewhere.

Rays May Trade Hall, Hendrickson [tbo.com]
Trade bait lures Nats, Brewers [Newsday]
As Upton waits, trading Lugo makes sense [St. Pete Times]

The Devil Rays have already made one trade sending Joey Gathright to the Royals for a promising pitching prospect, J. P. Howell. There are also rumors that several teams (Angels, Rockies, others?) are pursuing Carl Crawford (more on that later). In addition, the Rays have several veterans that are slated to be free agents at the end of the season, including Aubrey Huff, Julio Lugo and Travis Lee. Now the Tampa Tribune is reporting that the Rays are close to completing a deal that would send Mark Hendrickson and Toby Hall to the Dodgers for catching prospect Dioner Navarro.

Navarro was one of the prospects sent to the Dodgers in the three-way trade that sent Randy Johnson to the Yankees and Shawn Green to the Diamondbacks. Navarro is young (22) and is considered a very strong defensive catcher, that is yet to develop as a hitter. He was named the Yankees 2003 minor league player of the year after splitting the season between Tampa and Trenton where he hit .341 with 3 home runs in 58 games. He is considered the Dodger’s catcher of the future and has played 25 games in Dodger Blue this season batting .280 with 2 home runs. Navarro is considered expendable with the emergence of Russell Martin. Navarro recently spent a stint on the DL with a bone bruise in his foot and when he was activated was optioned to AAA Las Vegas where his hitting .175 in 11 games.

The question is…Is Hall and Hendrickson too big a price to pay for a catching prospect? We have no trouble trading Hendrickson, who just turned 32, and would be considered to be worth a lot on the trade market as a left handed starter who eats up innings and has a strong ERA if not a record to reflect how well he has pitched this season. His contract for this season is reasonable at approximately $2 million. The problem is Hendrickson is arbitration eligible at the end of the season and likely would command a hefty raise. Toby Hall is in a similar boat making slightly more this season ($2.3 million) and is also arbitration eligible at the end of the season. We can’t see Hall increasing his salary too much, but he will command a raise. Where our concern lies is in how the loss of Huff will affect the pitching staff. A pitching staff as young as the Rays’ with the likes of Kid K, James Shields, Tim Corcoran, Edwin Jackson and company, needs a veteran presence behind the plate. In addition, Hall is starting to develop into a solid offensive contributor. He will never be an all-star at the plate, but we can see him becoming a .280-20-80 hitter. Then again, Hall is 31 himself, and his shelf-life as a catcher we begin to decline in the next couple of years. But by then, the staff will have matured

So…is Hendrickson and Hall too big a price? Hard to say. The team will save a lot of money from the 2007 payroll. We would guess that team would save $8-12 million by moving both players, which could be used to bring in one or two veteran pitchers. The other reason this trade makes sense, is that catcher is the one position in the minors that the Devil Rays lack a strong major league prospect. Navarro would likely immediately step in and become the Rays’ starting catcher for the next decade. The move would make more sense if the team can bring in a veteran backup catcher for the 2007 season at a cheap price.

Of course there could be a small bidding war for Hendrickson and Hall. The Yankees have shown interest in Hall, having scouted him several times. Now that Vince Naimoli is no longer running the team, there is a better chance of the Rays and Yankees working together, considering the animosity between George Steinbrenner and Naimoli. However, we find it hard to believe that the Yankees can generate a package that would be strong enough to entice the Tampa Brass.

So then who is next if this trade goes through? The logical and obvious choices are Huff and Lugo and to a lesser extent, Travis Lee. Huff has started his traditional second half surge in the last couple of weeks, in which he has raised his average from below the Mendoza Line to .242, batting .325 in June after a .175 May and .182 April. Huff and Lugo have been the object of other team’s affections for over a year and will be moved before the July 31 trading deadline. Huff could be a target for the Detroit Tigers who could use a DH. Moving Lugo (several teams are interested) would open the door for B. J. ‘Don’t Call Me Melvin’ Upton. The team needs to see if Upton is a Major League shortstop and could use the second half of this season to make that determination. His bat and speed are ready, and need to be in the bigs. The wildcard is Travis Lee. Lee could command a mid-level minor league prospect from a contending team, looking for a solid defensive first baseman that could come off the bench late in games (New York Yankees?).

As the calendar is about to turn to July, the next 5 weeks could be the busiest trading month ever for this young franchise. The new regime has already shown that they are not afraid to pull the trigger on a trade and we would not be surprised if on August 1st, Lugo, Huff, Hendrickson, Hall and Lee are all playing elsewhere.

Rays May Trade Hall, Hendrickson [tbo.com]
Trade bait lures Nats, Brewers [Newsday]
As Upton waits, trading Lugo makes sense [St. Pete Times]