Archive for September 9th, 2008

Sep 09

[KING DAVID] David Price Named Minor League Player Of The Year; Could Be Promoted As Early As Today

Andrew Friedman, David Price, Matt Wieters Cork Gaines 2 Comments »

USA Today announced that David Price has been chosen as USA Today’s Minor League Player of the Year.

Pitcher David Price, a left-hander from Vanderbilt who pitched at three levels in the Tampa Bay Rays’ organization, is USA TODAY’s Minor League Player of the Year.

Price won the award in a vote by the staff of USA TODAY and Sports Weekly as well as online voting for fans.

Earlier this week Matt Wieters won Baseball America’s Minor League Player of the Year award.

Of a more immediate concern for the Rays and Price is if and when he will be promoted. After starting game 1 for the Bulls in the IL Championship Series, Price’s minor league season is now over. If the Rays do promote King David it could happen as early as tonight following the Rays final game in Boston or tomorrow, prior to the series in Yankee Stadium. The Rays could also wait until the IL series is concluded and promote Price just prior to the upcoming homestand that begins on Monday against the Red Sox.

Of course, this is all dependent on the Rays deciding to promote Price this season. We are still not convinced the Rays will want to put more innings on his young arm. One also has to wonder if there is even a need for Price at this point. Outside of Troy Percival, the rest of the bullpen has been strong all season as well as all 5 members of the starting rotation.

And earlier this week Andrew Friedman sounded as if the Rays were leaning against a promotion.

“We don’t want people getting ahead of themselves, anointing [David Price] a savior and putting undo pressure on a kid in his first full professional season.”

If Price is promoted to face the Yankees and the Red Sox, it would be a fitting chapter in this season…With King David getting an opportunity to slay not one, but two Goliaths.

Rays’ Price chosen USA TODAY’s top minor leaguer [USA Today]

Sep 09

[HAPPY HOUR] Johnson And Hernandez Called Up; Guzman DFA’d

Craig Albernaz, Dan Johnson, Joel Guzman, John Jaso, Michel Hernandez, Mike DiFelice, Rashad Eldridge Cork Gaines 1 Comment »

Marc Topkin is reporting that Dan Johnson and Michel Hernandez have been added to the 40-man roster and will report to the Rays. To make room on the 40-man roster, Joel Guzman has been designated for assignment.

Johnson will start tonight in left field, with Eric Hinske in right and Gabe Gross in center. Sweet Fancy Moses. That might be the worst defensive range ever for a major league outfield.

Johnson was originally added to the Rays’ roster in April, when he was claimed off of waivers from the A’s, but was with the Rays for less than a week, appearing in only 1 game. He was designated for assignment and assigned to Durham. At Durham, Johnson led the IL in OBP (.424) and OPS (.980), hitting 25 home runs. Johnson also expanded his defensive range. Prior to this season, Johnson had only played first base as a pro, but has seen time at third base and the outfield in Durham.

Hernandez is a journeyman minor leaguer who has only appeared in 5 major league games (with the Yankees in 2003) in 11 professional seasons. He was only recently acquired by the Rays to fill the void on the Durham roster after the promotion of John Jaso and release of Mike DiFelice.

Guzman, the Dodgers’ former top prospect, was originally acquired (with Sergio Pedroza) for Julio Lugo. The former shortstop flashed a good glove at several positions and immense power, but never was able to command the strikezone. This season Guzman had 103 strikeouts and only 19 walks in 116 games.

With the Durham Bulls playing game 1 of the IL championship series tonight, Craig Albernaz and Rashad Eldridge have been added to the active roster. Both players were most recently with double-A Montgomery.

C Hernandez, INF/OF Johnson called up [The Heater]

Sep 09

[2009 TAMPA BAY RAYS] Projected 2009 Tampa Bay Rays 25-Man Roster

25-man Roster Cork Gaines 6 Comments »

We need to take our mind off the clusterf*** that is the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays*. It has been a while since we updated our 2009 roster projections so let’s take a look. Next up is the 25-man roster projection, we posted the 40-man roster projection earlier today.

25-Man Roster Projection (notes and explanations on the projection can be found following the roster)…


Notes on the 25-man roster projection

  • Lineup: The only position that is up for grabs is right field. We feel Eric Hinske (free agent) will not be resigned and Gabe Gross and Jonny Gomes will not be offered arbitration. That leaves Justin Ruggiano and he doesn’t excite us. So our feeling is that this position will be filled through free agency. Bring back Hinske? Does Brad Wilkerson excite you? Corey Patterson? Maybe Ruggiano is the best option…The only wild card is Cliff Floyd, who has hinted that he may retire.
  • Bench: We feel none of these spots are secured but we also feel that all four of these players have a big lead over anybody else unless somebody is brought in from outside the organization. We are projecting that Rocco Baldelli will be resigned to an incentive-filled contract and will start against lefties. Willy Aybar and Ben Zobrist offer the team solid bats off the bench and a lot of positional flexibility.
  • Rotation: Here is where it starts to get messy. The top 3 are locks. The 4th spot belongs to David Price but it might not happen right out of the gate. We give Edwin Jackson the nod over Andy Sonnanstine for the 5th spot, but we would not be surprised if it goes the other way. It could also be Sonny and Jackson with Price in the minors for a couple of weeks.
  • Bullpen: The top 6 seem like locks to us. Can anybody make an argument for something different? That leaves one spot in the ‘pen, a long reliever. Possibilities are Andy Sonnanstine, Jeff Niemann and Jason Hammel. Hammel and Niemann will be out of options, while Sonny does have a minor league option remaining. At least one trade has to be made this off-season. There are just not enough chairs for when the music stops. Can you argue for Sonny and/or Hammel on the roster? Can you argue for Sonny in the minors over being traded at a time when his value is high? Should the Rays keep Sonny and trade Jackson and Niemann and keep Hammel in the ‘pen? There are several possibilities here.

*Written prior to winning the final 2 games in Red Sox series.

Sep 09

[2009 TAMPA BAY RAYS] Projected 2009 Tampa Bay Rays 40-Man Roster

40-man Roster Cork Gaines 13 Comments »

We need to take our mind off the clusterf*** that is the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays. It has been a while since we updated our 2009 roster projections so let’s take a look. First up is the 40-man roster projection, we will be back later today with the 25-man roster projection.

40-Man Roster Projection (notes and explanations on the projection can be found following the roster)…


Notes on the 40-man roster projection

  • Ages are as of today
  • Shaded players are projected to be on the 40-man roster, but not on the 25-man roster
  • Italicized players are currently on the 40-man roster but are not projected to be on the roster in ’09
  • Several players in the minors will be eligible for the Rule 5 draft for the first time this winter and either need to be added to the 40-man roster or risk being selected by another organization. This list includes Jake McGee, Wade Davis, Reid Brignac, Chris Mason, Eddie Morlan, Ryan Royster and Mike Wlodarczyk. McGee*, Davis, Brignac and Morlan appear to be locks. The others are subjective. Also, anybody the Rays sign as a major league free agent will need a spot on the 40-man roster. When that happens, it will mean Mason, Royster and/or Wlodarczyk will not be protected on the 40-man roster. Is there anybody in the minors that needs protecting that we are forgetting about? Let us know in the comments.
  • The Rays have 6 players that will be arbitration eligible following this season. Salaries for 4 of those players are guestimations at this point. Anybody you think we are way off on? We are projecting that the other 2 arbitration-eligible players, Jonny Gomes and Gabe Gross will not be offered arbitration by the Rays.
  • We are projecting that the Rays will resign Rocco Baldelli to an incentive-laden contract.
  • The opening day payroll projects to be $56.2 million, but will certainly go up with free agent signings (right field) and any additional long-term contracts given to young players (Upton, Garza, Navarro). Look for the 2009 opening day payroll to be $60-65 million.
  • In addition to Jonny Gomes and Gabe Gross, we project 4 other current members of the 40-man roster that will not be with the Rays in ’09. Eric Hinske is a free agent and unlikely to be resigned. Joel Guzman will be out of minor league options and we see no room for him on the 25-man roster. Jason Hammel is also out of minor league options and we do not see a spot for him on the 25-man roster. Andy Sonnanstine does have minor league options, but we feel that his value is high and will be traded (We will have more on this in the 25-man roster projection later today).

* The Rays may be eligible for an injury exception with McGee, giving the Rays an extra year before having to protect him on the 40-man roster.

Sep 09

[THE HANGOVER] ‘Productive’ Players Meeting Leads To Zero Runs, Another Loss

Andrew Friedman, BJ Upton, Cliff Floyd, David Price, Elliot Johnson, Evan Longoria, Jeff Niemann, Jonny Gomes, Juan Salas Cork Gaines 2 Comments »



THE GOOD: Something good? Something good? Guess we could say the Rays chances of making the playoffs are now 99.4% according to Baseball Prospectus and 98.4% according to CoolStandings…That’s good, right?

THE BAD: Of course what the hell does it matter if the team makes the playoffs if they are just going to be swept in 3 games when they face the Angels in the first round? Huh? Is that what we want? To go into the playoffs and just prove on the friggin’ national stage that the Rays are still the Devil Rays and shouldn’t be playing with the “Big Boys”. If this doesn’t turn around, this is going to get ugly…We picked a bad week to quit drinking whiskey…BJ Upton left the game in the 5th after straining his left quad while running (hard) to first base…The home run Edwin Jackson gave up in the first inning landed an hour earlier than the time it left the bat…With Jonathan Papalbon called on with 2 men on base and 2 outs in the 8th, Joe Maddon decided not to pinch hit for Rocco Baldelli. It was not like he was calling on Ben Zobrist or John Jaso. He had Cliff Floyd on the bench. We haven’t gone through the at bats, but how many times has Rocco faced a 98-mph heater in the last 2 years? Once? None? And Rocco hadn’t touched a pitch all night, and Papa Joe “felt good” about Rocco in that situation? Floyd would have been better prepared. And he had the match-up advantage being a lefty. $#%@#!!!!

THE TELLING: The Rays haven’t scored a run since the Truman administration.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

  • Juan Salas suffered an epileptic seizure prior to last night’s game and was taken to a Boston hosptal. This is apparently not the first time this has happened to Salas and the Rays say he should be fine. [Rays Report]
  • Evan Longoria was available to pinch-hit last night, and we assume that will be the same tonight and tomorrow. [St. Pete Times]
  • Marc Lancaster says BJ Upton actually injured his quad while running (hard) after a flyball in the first inning, and won’t be back until the weekend series. Joe Maddon said he will talk to Andrew Friedman about adding a player from Durham, possibly Jonny Gomes or Elliot Johnson…Did we mention that Upton was injured while running hard? It’s true. [Rays Report]
  • Cliff Floyd called a players-only team meeting prior to the game yesterday. Marc Lancaster says the meeting was “productive”…How productive could it have been. The Rays scored ZERO RUNS. [Tampa Tribune]
  • John Romano is preaching to the choir, but at least somebody isn’t afraid to say it…Translation: the Rays are pissing away the division. [St. Pete Times]

But there is considerable shame in the way the Rays are allowing this to happen…No matter how you frame it, the Rays are giving the division away. For five months, they were the best team in baseball, and they have allowed much of that prestige to unravel in eight September days…Trust me, this is not a question of semantics. It matters whether the Red Sox take the division, or the Rays surrender it. And, as of this morning, the white flag is halfway up the pole.

  • Peter Gammons reports that Jeff Niemann has been so impressive recently that he “will definitely fit into the Tampa bullpen this month.” Also, Andrew Friedman makes it sound like the Rays will not promote David Price…This would not surprise us at all. Also, we will reiterate what we have said before: If the Rays can clinch early, Niemann will make at least one start and possibly two, to give the regular starters a chance for a couple of extra days rest. [ESPN]

“We don’t want people getting ahead of themselves, anointing [David Price] a savior and putting undo pressure on a kid in his first full professional season.”–Andrew Friedman

  • Matt Wieters was named the “Minor League Player of Year” by Baseball America. This is different from the USA Today player of the year award, for which David Price is a finalist. [Baseball America]