Brad Hawpe has signed a one-year deal with the Padres. As a type B free agent, the Rays will receive a compensation pick between the first and second round next year.
The Rays picked up Hawpe after he was released by the Rockies. For 15 games and 46 plate appearances, the Rays paid Hawpe approximately $70K for the final month of the season. Hawpe gave the Rays seven hits, including two home runs.
But more importantly, Read the rest of this entry »
The Rays offered arbitration to free agents Grant Balfour, Carl Crawford, Rafael Soriano, Randy Choate, Brad Hawpe, Joaquin Benoit and Chad Qualls. The Rays declined to offer arbitration to Dan Wheeler or Carlos Pena.
Offering a free agent arbitration is necessary if the Rays want to receive draft pick compensation if those free agents sign with another team. The risk is that the player could decide they will get more in arbitration than on the free agent market. If the player accepts the offer, the Rays could be stuck with a player they don’t want or at a price they don’t want to pay.
In the cases of Wheeler and Pena, both would have almost certainly accepted. The Rays may want both players back, but they don’t want to pay what either could have gotten in arbitration.
Balfour and Qualls could choose to accept arbitration and the Rays may be more than happy to have both back on one-year deals at a salary similar to what they made last year.
Crawford, Soriano and Choate will decline arbitration knowing they will get more money and years on the free agent market. And Benoit has already signed with the Tigers. Offering him arbitration is just a formality to make sure the Rays receive a compensation draft pick.
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
The GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.
click above image for boxscore
THE GOOD: Wade Davis. That was as good as we have ever seen Dig Dub’s fastball. 81 of his 101 pitches were fastballs, topping out at 97mph and getting 6 swinging strikes. Is there any doubt who the 4th starter would be if the playoffs started today? As good as Jeff Niemann was in the first 4 months, there is a very real chance he will not be on the playoff roster…Brad Hawpe. If he is going to have one moment, he picked a pretty good one, hitting a grand slam in the 4th making the score 6-0. And the rout was on…
THE BAD: None
THE TELLING: The Durham Bulls will play the decisive fifth game of the IL first-round today at 5:05pm…The Rays extended their player development contract with the Bowling Green Hot Rods through the 2012 season…Rafael Soriano is one save short of the franchise record (43) held by Roberto Hernandez.
WHERE THEY STAND: The Rays are 86-55, one-half game behind the Yankees in the East (tied in the loss column) and 8.5 games ahead of the Red Sox and White Sox in the Wild Card (9 in the loss column). After 141 games in 2008, the Rays were 85-56.
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
The GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.
click above image for boxscore
THE GOOD: David Price. There was a time when David Price couldn’t hit 96 with one pitch. But last night, his 100th pitch was 96 mph. That was just the most obvious example of how Price got stronger as the night moved along. It started with 2 walks in the first, in which 10 of his 19 pitches were out of the zone. But in the next 7 innings, he threw only 20 balls…Ralph Soriano. He didn’t have the good stuff to start the 9th. Of his first 11 pitches, only 1 was greater than 93 mph. The 11th pitch was smacked for a 1-out triple. But then MFIKY found an extra gear. The next 10 pitches were 94-96 as he fought back to retire the last 2 batters and seal the win.
THE BAD: New Faces. Joe Maddon decided to go with his triple-A lineup, by throwing Dioner Navarro, Brad Hawpe and Desmond Jennings straight into the mix. It was a rough night, as the trio went a combined 1-10 with 6 strikeouts, leaving 9 runners on base. Brad Hawpe went 0-4 with 4 strikeouts, including a curious situation in which Joe Maddon left Hawpe in with 2 outs in the 8th and the bases loaded against a lefty.
THE TELLING: Grant Balfour was activated from the DL…According to CoolStandings.com the Rays have a 98.3% shot at the playoffs. The Red Sox are at 2.7%.
WHERE THEY STAND: The Rays are 82-51, 1 game behind the Yankees and 7 games ahead of the Red Sox in the Wild Card. After 133 games in 2008, the Rays were 82-51.
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
Marc Topkin is reporting that the Rays will call up Desmond Jennings, Jeremy Hellickson, Rocco Baldelli, Brad Hawpe and Dioner Navarro when rosters expand tomorrow.
The Rays plans for the Wednesday’s roster expansion are to add OF Desmond Jennings, OF/DH Rocco Baldelli, C Dioner Navarro, RHP Jeremy Hellickson and OF Brad Hawpe…They are also expected to bring up C Jose Lobaton, though he is likely headed to the DL, which will create additional roster flexibility at the end of the season.
In order to add Hawpe and Baldelli, the Rays will need to make room on the 40-man roster. Moving JP Howell to the 60-day DL would free up one spot. They could do the same with Jose Lobaton.
The Rays today announced they signed Brad Hawpe to a minor league deal. The 2009 All-Star with the Rockies will report to single-A Charlotte for a few days until rosters expand on Sept. 1. Technically, a player must be on the 25-man roster on August 31 in order to be eligible for the post-season. But if Hawpe plays well for the Rays, they can add Hawpe to the postseason roster as long as somebody is moved to the 60-day DL. And the Rays, who are masters of the DL-roster spot, should have no problem doing that.
Hawpe hit .255 with 7 home runs and a .343 OBP in 88 games before being waived by the Rockies. Hawpe averaged 25 home runs and a .384 OBP from 2006 to 2009.
In other news, Jayson Stark reports that the White Sox did indeed claim Manny Ramirez off waivers. He says there are “strong indications” the Rays did try to claim Manny. However, the White Sox had the priority claim due to their worse record.
The GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.
click above image for boxscore
THE GOOD: Hellboy IV. Tonight, the immovable object meets the unstoppable force. The Rays are 2-13 in their last 15 Friday games. But the Rays will send Jeremy Hellickson will take his 3-0 record to the mound. Great pitchers prevent losing streaks. It’s time for Hellboy to be great…Evan Longoria. Dirtbag continues to rake, picking up 2 more hits and his 17th home run. He now has 8 hits in the last 3 games and 17 in the last 10.
THE BAD: CooCoo Crisp. Damn we hate that guy. With 1 run already in and the Rays holding a 3-1 lead. Crisp robbed Matt Joyce of a 2-run home run that would have likely put the game out of reach…Going Cold. This offense sure picks some terrible times to go cold. After Oakland took the lead in the bottom of the 6th, BJ Upton led off the 7th with a single. Reid Brignac then swung at the first pitch without giving Upton a chance to steal second, and grounded into a double-play. Upton would end up being the Rays last baserunner…Dan Wheeler. We’re not going to rag on the guy too hard because usually he gets the job done. But you have to kinda expect the occasional implosion. You just hope those don’t cost the Rays wins. Last night it did…Dan Johnson. In 12 games, Johnson is now 4-35 (.114). He does have 14 walks which is nice. But we warned you not to get too excited.
THE TELLING: BJ Upton’s 10-game hitting streak matches a career-high…Jeff Niemann and Wade Davis will pitch in a simulated game today…Chad Qualls is absent from the team due to a death in the family…The Pepsi Refresh Project awarded the Rays a $5,000 grant for the Moffitt Cancer Center. The Twins won the big prize.
WHERE THEY STAND: The Rays are 74-47, 1 game behind the Yankees and 5.5 games ahead of the Red Sox. After 121 games in 2008, the Rays were 74-47.
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
