Dec 12
Marc Topkin is reporting that Jonny Gomes has been non-tendered by the Rays and is now a free agent. The Rays did offer arbitration to the remaining five players that were arbitration-eligible (Willy Aybar, Grant Balfour, Jason Bartlett, Gabe Gross, Dioner Navarro).
With the Rays offering Gross arbitration, it suggests that there is at least a possibility that Matt Joyce will begin the season in triple-A as both players offer a similar skill set.
And so it is. Jonny Gomes’ career with the Rays has now come to an end…and yes, the 2009 season will indeed be less Jonny-Terrific.
Gomes non-tendered, now a free agent [The Heater]
Dec 12
Earlier today we projected the 40-man roster and payroll. Now let’s take a look at the 25-man roster and lineup.
25-Man Roster Projection and Lineup (notes and explanations on the projection can be found following the roster)…
Notes on the 25-man roster projection
- Projection is based only on players currently in the organization. The projection will be updated when players are acquired via free agency or trades.
- Lineup: The only spots up for grabs are right field and DH. There are at least concerns about whether Matt Joyce is an everyday player. We would rather see Joyce in AAA for 3 months playing everyday over platooning at the major league level. It is hard to improve against lefties if he is not facing them. If he is in the minors, Gabe Gross will be in right field as a platoon with Willy Aybar, Ben Zobrist or Fernando Perez. DH seems destined to go to a free agent.
- Bench: Three spots seem secure with the last spot dependent on what happens in RF/DH. Sean Riggans seems safe, as he looked solid with the bat. But he needs to show marked improvement behind the plate. Base stealers were 24-25 against Diesel, and the one caught stealing was on a pitch out. Willy Aybar and Ben Zobrist figure to see plenty of playing time at various positions and both could be part of the RF/DH rotation. The final spot is likely to belong to Gabe Gross once a DH is signed.
- Rotation: We finally have some clarity here with the trade of Edwin Jackson. Andy Sonnanstine is a lock. The only question now is whether David Price is deemed ready in spring training. If not, the last spot will go to Jason Hammel, Mitch Talbot or Jeff Niemann.
- Bullpen: Four of the spots are locks. A fifth, Troy Percival, is a lock if he isn’t on the DL. That leaves two openings. One will go to a long reliever. Jeff Niemann and Jason Hammel are out of minor league options, and one figures to be the long reliever, although the other (or Mitch Talbot) could be in the rotation in April. If nobody else is added to the roster, the final spot might be Derek Rodriguez, a side-arming righty picked up in the Rule 5 Draft. Of course, that would leave the Rays without an official lefty specialist.
Dec 12
With a couple of recent changes to the 40-man roster let’s update the 2009 40-man roster projection. We will be back in a little while to look at the 25-man roster and lineup.
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.
- There are currently 39 players on the 40-man roster. Jason Hammel and Jae Kuk Ryu are out of minor league options and we do not see a spot for them on the 25-man roster. We also don’t project Dan Johnson to be back with the Rays.
- The Rays have 6 players that will be arbitration-eligible following this season. Salaries for 5 of those players are guestimations at this point based on contracts of similar arbitration-eligibles in the past few years. Anybody you think we are way off on? We are projecting that the other arbitration-eligible player, Jonny Gomes, will be non-tendered by the Rays.
- We previously had Dan Johnson as arbitration-eligible, but upon further review it appears he came up just short on service time. Also, we are surprised to learn that Willy Aybar is arbitration-eligible, which means he received a full year of major league service time in 2007 despite being suspended most of the season.
- Chad Bradford’s $3.5 million salary sticks out like a sore thumb.
- The opening day payroll now projects to be $51.9 million, but we also need to include Rocco Baldelli’s buyout ($4 million). While not technically part of the payroll, it is a cost that cannot be ignored. That brings the projected payroll up to $55.9 million. This amount will certainly go up with free agent signings (DH) and any additional long-term contracts given to young players (Upton, Garza, Navarro).
Dec 12
One year ago on Rays Index we speculated on what an alternate jersey and cap might look like for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2009. We have since learned that the alternate jersey would not feature “Tampa Bay” as originally reported.
Possible Glimpse At Tampa Bay Rays Alternate Uniform To Debut In 2009 [Rays Index]
Dec 12
Almost exactly one year after being traded together from the Twins to the Rays, and a couple of weeks after Joe Maddon did the same, Matt Garza and Jason Bartlett got married…Not to each other, that would be illegal in most states.
Bartlett married Kelly Chevez on November 15 (picture of the couple below). This came a little more than one year after Bartlett proposed to Kelly while missing a week of the Twins season with “an injury”.
Garza married Serina Ortiz on November 29. Here is video of Garza talking about the wedding. When asked if he was as nervous during game 7 of the ALCS, Garza responded “hell nah!” Matt and Serina have dated since high school and have two children together.
In the same video we learn that Garza is conducting a baseball clinic later this month with some former Fresno State teammates. We hope this doesn’t violate Jim Hickey’s orders that the pitchers are not to touch a baseball until January.
On a side note, Garza’s dad, Rudy Garza, is a member of the Army National Guard and will be deployed to Kuwait in January.
Cangratulations to Matt and Jason, and a heart-felt ‘thank you’ to Rudy.
KELLY CHEVEZ & JASON BARTLETT [TheKnot.com]
Being Prepared Is Jason Bartlett’s Motto [Rays Index]
Up Close and Personal with Matt Garza [ABC30]
Rays pitchers told to take it easy this offseason [ESPN]
Success hasn’t spoiled Garzas [Fresno Bee]
Dec 12
Tonight is the non-tender deadline for the Rays and their six arbitration-eligible players. So it might be a good time to say your good-byes to Jonny Gomes, as 2009 has a very good chance of being less Jonny-terrific.
Willy Aybar, Dioner Navarro, Jason Bartlett and Grant Balfour will certainly be offered arbitration. Gomes is a good candidate to be non-tendered and Gabe Gross is on the cusp.
If the Rays offer Gross arbitration it might be an indication that they want to have the option of sending Matt Joyce to the minors to open the season. If Gross is not offered arbitration, Joyce will almost certainly be on the opening day roster.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Good news for the Rays. The first corner outfielder/DH signed. Raul Ibanez signed with the Phillies for three years/$30 million. With the deal also costing the Phillies a first round draft pick (Type A free agent) we can expect most of the remaining corner outfielder/DHs to come in under that mark. [MLB Trade Rumors]
- Matt Joyce, who is currently playing in Mexico and is from the Tampa area, called the trade to the Rays “a dream come true.” [St. Pete Times]
- Joe Maddon spoke highly of Matt Joyce the person and the ball player. [Tampa Tribune]
“I like the thunder in his bat, I like the effort with which he played,” said Manager Joe Maddon. “He’s a very good outfielder, he throws well and he’s young. He’s the kind of guy I think, as he learns more about himself at the plate, is going to be a very productive offensive player, too.”…Maddon added that several baseball people had approached him since the trade was made to tell him how much they thought of Joyce as a person, and Friedman heard the same thing.
- FanGraphs breaks down the Edwin Jackson/Matt Joyce trade noting that Joyce is the better player right now and will likely get better. They compare Joyce to Jayson Werth and note that Joyce teamed with Carl Crawford and BJ Upton is easily the best defensive outfield in baseball. [Fangraphs]
- Keith Law’s take is not quite as uplifting, saying Matt Joyce is best suited to be part of a right field platoon. [ESPN]
- Drays Bay shows that Matt Joyce compares favorably to Carl Crawford both defensively and against lefties and wonders why anybody would want to platoon Joyce…First off, they might be right and we are not sure Joyce isn’t an everyday player (we hope he is). While they have to use Joyce’s minor league splits, it is just silly to think that those numbers will translate perfectly to the major leagues. If Joyce is already near the bottom of the list in OPS against lefties with just his minor league numbers, is it too much of a stretch to worry that it might actually regress a little (or a lot) in the majors? And while Joyce’s minor league OPS versus lefties (.721) is greater than Carl Crawford’s major league OPS versus lefties (.695), three of the four seasons were actually worse. In fact, in 2008 at triple-A, Joyce posted an OPS of .656 versus lefties. It was only 46 at bats, but it was a crappy 46 at bats (1 HR, .308 OBP, 18.2% fly balls). And let’s say Joyce does maintain his OPS versus lefties. A starting outfield with Joyce and Crawford both playing positions that we should expect offensive production from, would be atrocious against left-handers. [Drays Bay]
- John Romano says the Matt Joyce at worst, is a younger, cheaper Gabe Gross. [St. Pete Times]
- Originally Matt Joyce was to be dealt to Seattle for JJ Putz. With Putz now a Met, that leaves the Tigers without a closer. Might Joyce have been traded for a closer after all? Might Edwin Jackson close for the Tiggers? [The Flint Journal]
- The “Rays Digest Podcast” will be back today with another installment as Tyler Hissey recaps the Winter Meetings. [Rays Digest]
- Pearls of Wisdom has gone to all stops to make sure Jonny Gomes is not tendered a contract tonight. [Pearls of Wisdom]
- Peter Abraham is reporting that Jason Giambi is open to returning to the Yankees for less years and less dollars. This is contrary to previous reports that said Giambi preferred to play on the west coast. [The LoHud Yankees Blog]
- David Chalk of Bugs and Cranks welcomes Matt Joyce to Devil Ray Town and hopes this means Jason Giambi is not to be a Ray. [Bugs and Cranks]
