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[RAYS HOT STOVE] Rays Decline Options On Floyd And Miller
Cliff Floyd, David Price, Edwin Jackson, JP Howell, Jeff Niemann, Trever Miller November 3rd. 2008, 5:40pmIn one somewhat surprising move and one not-so-surprising move, the Rays have declined the 2009 options on both Cliff Floyd and Trever Miller.
The Floyd move is not surprising as we recently learned that he could be headed for retirement. Even if Floyd chooses to play again in 2009, $2.75 million is a stiff price for a player that is a part-time DH and a part-time DL player. In 2008, Floyd appeared in only 80 games (72 starts), hitting .268/.349/.455 with 11 home runs.
Declining Miller’s option was a bit more surprising as $2 million is a fair price for a lefty specialist. The loss of Miller leaves the Rays with JP Howell as the only left-hander in the bullpen.
The Rays do project to have more pitchers than spots in 2009 with the potential additions of David Price and Jeff Niemann. Niemann will be out of minor league options next season. If Price moves to the rotation, Niemann can expect to compete with Edwin Jackson for one of the final bullpen spots unless one or both are traded.
Floyd’s buyout cost the Rays $250K while Miller’s was $400K.
Rays Decline Options On Floyd, Miller [MLB Trade Rumors]
Professor, you have any interesting view on letting Miller and Floyd go, but I think Dawnrider117 from the MLB Trade Rumors article puts it more eloquently:
“They are stupid. They nto going to postseason next year. Its cause they elt these two cheap guys walk. Floyds presence siw orth it. His bat is worth 6M in the market. Hes a beats. Ina full season he can put up 20-25 HR. 90-100 RBI. 30 DO. decent average. good OBP. They are cheap as hell. They need to change the owner of the team, now that they got some ncie players with them. Or open up the 1st layer of there wallets. Please.”
just say ‘No’ to drunk commenting
as sad as it is, i almost feel like cliff floyd is a waste of a roster spot. yea the guy can mash and he is a great veteran presence, but he is getting older and more injury prone by the day. his power will start to wear down soon, and he has no versatility whatsoever. he will be missed in the locker room, but i think in the lineup, the rays can find a switch hitting dh, or they can find a lefty who can also play the field. i almost feel like eric hinske is a step up to cliff floyd because he has the ability to play the field, although he hitting may not be as good. the rays will have options this year of players who are multi-dimensional, and i hope they go in that direction.
Hey Cork I saw on MLBTR you mentioned to Dierkes about Nick Punto going to our beloved Rays, then saw about 2 minutes later on the site that shall not be named RJ mocking the idea completely…if you could…or even just to shut up that know it all why did you suggest Punto, and by mocking I mean he called him scrappy
i should clarify: Tim asked me if any of the guys on the list made sense for the Rays. My response was that *of those 50* Punto stuck out. He is the type of player that Maddon loves on his bench. A switch-hitter. Can play lots of positions. He is fundamentally sound. I think he could come to the Rays with the promise of 2-3 starts a week and 250-300 at bats.
Is he a difference maker? No. But he is a very good role player.
The question is whether or not another team see Punto as an everyday starter. If that is the case, he won’t sign with the Rays. If he can’t find an everyday job, then i think the Rays will at least kick the tires.