Time to bring back 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: James Shields. Wasn’t Shields’ fault. The Rays owe him one at some point. Maybe one of those nights when he gives up 3 home runs. The offense owes Shields a 10-spot…More Golden D: There was another running grab by BJ Upton and there was the play Jason Bartlett made in the hole and somehow got rid of the ball quick enough and strong enough to get Ichiro. And there were the two plays Evan Longoria made in the sixth. The first was stopping a ground ball and making the throw from foul ground. Then he ended the same inning with a diving snag to his left…Pat Burrell. He hasn’t flashed the big bat yet, but it is a good sign that Burrell is still showing mastery of the strike zone. Yesterday he singled and walked 3 times. That tells us that The Bat is not slumping and the bombs aren’t far behind.

THE BAD: No Momentum. The offense learned the hard way that momentum is only as good as the next game’s starting pitcher. one day after scoring 9 runs and seemingly breaking out of their collective slump, the Rays were shutout…Pat Burrell tagging up. Burrell tagged up from second base on a ball in deep right-center. Watching Burrell “sprint” to third base was one of the more painful things we have seen in a while. Look at that pic above. Is he running or doing the “Truffle Shuffle”?…No O-Swing%. The Rays may be one of the best teams in baseball when it comes to not swinging at pitches out of the strike zone, but that didn’t stop Ben Zobrist from popping up ball-4 with 1 out in the 9th and the tying run on second.

THE TELLING: Ben Zobrist started his third straight game in right field…The Rays were only shutout 7 times in 2008. They have been shutout twice in 16 games this season…We watched a lot of Edwin Jackson last night, and that sure looked an awful lot like the Jackson we remember. He looked great for 3 innings and then had two bases loaded walks in the fourth. Maybe we can all simmer down about the “new” EJax.

SUNBURST PLAYER OF THE GAME: James Shields. Hold a team to 1 run on 4 hits and a walk, that should be a ‘W’.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

• Rays the Stakes has added a couple of new writers, and one of them has their first post up calling for Ben Zobrist to be the everyday right fielder. [Rays the Stakes]
• Fernando Perez has his latest blog post up for the New York Times. and t includes one of the best lines we have read in a while. [New York Times]

When asked about helping to carry the Rays championship banners: If it was really a big deal, you’d imagine the Rays would have gotten someone iconic or wise. Someone other than me. Maybe Bob Barker or Bono or something.

• For only the 22nd time in big league history, a 1-0 game was decided by a leadoff home run. [The Heater]
• Somebody at the St. Pete Times calls The Trop, one of “10 things that suck (but are secretly awesome) about life in Tampa Bay.”…We don’t even know what that means. [St. Pete Times]
• The Rays dropped to 7th in Tim Brown’s latest Power Rankings. [Yahoo! Sports]

Time to bring back 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: The Garza Complex. You hold the Red Sox to 1 run in 7 innings at Fenway, that is always good. But he did struggle at times, walking 3 and needing 22 pitches to survive the first. We were impressed that he managed to make it through 7…Matt Joyce. Boy, that kid has a swing that was born to hit home runs, and yesterday he hit his first for the Rays. Might he earn a start against a lefty?…Carl Crawford. Stellar defense all-around. We have been hard on CC because he doesn’t have the best arm in the world, but we have always said he is one of the best from the time the ball leaves the bat, until the time it reaches his glove. He made two great running grabs, one each way yesterday…Defensive Shifts. We are all familiar with Joe Maddon’s shifts against lefties, but what about the shift yesterday against Mike Lowell in which he lined out right to Aki iwamura who was standing behind second base. With a runner on third, that shift saved a run.

THE BAD: Heartburn. As in that is what Troy Percival gives us every time he steps on the mound. He got the job done, but why can’t it ever be easy?…Umpiring. For the second time this series an automatic ball was called on the Rays starting pitcher for putting his hand to his mouth while on the mound. Yes, it is a rule that the pitcher must ask permission to do so. But in years past, it was just assumed that permission had been granted on cold days. It appears as though this is a point of emphasis this season in MLB to make sure pitchers start asking. Let’s hope this doesn’t turn into the balk-circus that occurred back in 1988, in which 26 kazillion balks were called as umpires were told to abide by the letter of the law…Missed RBI. The Rays stranded a small army yesterday on the basepaths, including 4 separate innings in which a runner was stranded at third.

THE TELLING: This was the first opening-series loss by the Red Sox since 1988, and it was the first opening series win by the Rays since 2002…Shawn Riggans may soon become Matt Garza’s personal catcher. Riggans was the catcher when Garza 1-hit the Marlins last season and he was the catcher when Garza threw a 2-hit shutout against the Rangers…Rain is in the forecast for Baltimore this evening.

SUNBURST PLAYER OF THE GAME: Evan Longoria. We know that yesterday we said that a strong pitching performance at Fenway gets your name here, but it did seem that part of Matt Garza’s “good” was luck as 43 of his 106 pitches were balls. And we did not like when he appeared to be worried about his pitch count in the 6th and instead of wasting a pitch, he grooved an 0-2 fastball that turned into an RBI triple. No, Longo is the one, literally. Another home run. Another double. Three more hits. But what we loved the most was the defensive play he made in the 9th, when he saved Percival’s arse. And the best part was how the crowd was chanting “M-V-P” for Dustin Pedroia when the play was made by Longoria. Foreshadowing of things to come?

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

• We are once again running the “Down on the Farm” segment, looking at the Rays minor league affiliates. That post has its own “Webtopia” for minor league news. It will run daily in the AM, just before “The Hangover.” If you missed today’s, it can be found below this post.
• A new Rays blog. Go on over and welcome them to the neighborhood. [TheDevilSlips]
• “It doesn’t have to be an oil painting to be successful.” Joe Maddon on Troy Percival. [Tampa Tribune]
• Joe Maddon says there is “some kind of mental vibe” going on between Matt Garza and Shawn Riggans and Marc Topkin points out that Garza works well with Riggans because Riggans offers Garza a lower target. [St. Pete Times]
• We forgot to mention this a couple of days ago, but now that Matt Joyce has hit a home run, maybe it is a little safer today…When we first saw that Edwin Jackson was the Tigers #2 starter, our first reaction was to bet the under on the win total. Then we saw his first start and we thought, yep, could have seen that coming. A 1-hit shutout through 7, left after 8 having allowed only 1 run on 2 hits. [Detroit Free-Press]
• In their own unique way, Babes Love Baseball previews the Tampa Bay Rays. [Babes Love Baseball]
• Tim Brown keeps the Rays in the top spot in his latest power rankings…Normally we are a little more cautious (some would say pessimistic), but if the three best team in baseball reside in the AL East and the Yankees just lost 2 to the O’s and the Rays took 2 of 3 at Fenway, then it is hard to argue at this point. [Yahoo! Sports]
• Marc Lancaster has the Summer concert series schedule. [Rays Report]

Back in early 2007, Joe Maddon wanted Edwin Jackson to watch some tapes of Bob Gibson. This is not a new story. Nor is it really anything newsworthy. Why wouldn’t a manager want a pitcher to emulate one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history.

What is crazy. No. What is absolutely mind-boggling idiocy is John Lowe of the Detroit Free-Press with a column titled:

Edwin Jackson drawing comparisons to Bob Gibson

Sweet Fancy Moses! Our jaw just dropped so far it fell completely off our face. Seriously, we need to reattach our jaw.

Bob Gibson won two Cy Young awards and an MVP. He was an all-star nine times. He won 18 games eight times. He struck out 7.2 and walked only 3.1 per 9 innings for his career.  And lest you think he was just a product of the pitcher era, he finished his 17-year career with an ERA+ of 127.

Edwin Jackson has a career ERA+ of 86 and his strike out and walk rates per 9 innings are 6.1 and 4.5.

And we are not trying to knock Jackson here. We actually think that one of these years Jackson will put it all together and get hot for an entire season. He will win 20 games and contend for a Cy Young. But it will be one season in a sea of 15 other seasons that will be average at best and downright horrific at worst.

Edwin Jackson is not Bob Gibson. Edwin Jackson does not “draw comparisons” to Bob Gibson. If Bob Gibson is a Mercedes, Edwin Jackson is a blind donkey with only three legs.

Edwin Jackson drawing comparisons to Bob Gibson [Detroit Free-Press]

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]
  

Last night the Rays traded Edwin Jackson to the Tigers for Matt Joyce. We have long said that Jackson needed to be moved and we like the addition of Joyce. But we have to admit, given the demand for young, cheap starting pitchers, we were a little surprised the Rays did not receive more in return.

Although we will never know exactly how the process played out, one thing that caught our attention is the lack of bidding by other teams. This is a direct result of the secretive nature of the Rays front office. Other teams leak information on a regular basis. One reason is to make it known that certain players are available and hope to encourage more teams to get involved in the bidding. The more teams involved, the higher the price. This is fundamentally different than the Rays approach.

Some teams encourage other GMs to come to them, while some teams are more proactive and approach other teams. The Rays appear to be more comfortable approaching other teams. This is not necessarily a bad thing. While keeping negotiations quiet, the Rays keep other teams from becoming involved in the player they covet.

In the end the Rays are able to get the player they want, but the overall package may be less.

Let’s take a look at what is being said about the trade in the blogosphere…

Take 75 North feels this this is a terrible deal for the Tigers.

I do not see how this isn’t a terrible deal for the Tigers. On the Tigers’ end, they’re shipping out Matt Joyce. He’s, by nearly every account, an excellent outfielder…He’s also a power-hitting left-handed bat, which the Tigers claim to see as a valuable skillset for the team. Finally, he’s young and cheap…Losing Joyce is only part of what has me so upset about this trade, though. The second part is the Tigers are essentially choosing Gary Sheffield over him…So now the Tigers have three starters of questionable value in [Nate] Robertson, [Dontrelle] Willis and Jackson. Acquiring Jackson will probably allow them to move one of the others, but I see no reason to believe that will be a step forward…I think we’re going to regret this trade almost immediately.

The Detroit Tigers Weblog does not see a benefit to the Tigers.

I’m having a hard time even writing about the deal…Joyce might flame out, but Jackson has yet to even burn…I don’t know how Jackson fits in, whether he will be a starter or reliever. Oh yeah, and he’s eligible for arbitration. Good luck Rick Knapp. I don’t get this one at all.

The Rays Party would have preferred a right-handed bat, but like Joyce and and the flexibility he provides.

The concern is why the Rays got another left-handed hitter instead of a right-hander that can hit against lefties, which was a weak spot last year. But the Rays see his potential and like they have control of him for six years. He also has options and can be sent down if the Rays feel he needs more time in the minors.

Bless You Boys would have rather seen Joyce traded for a closer.

This doesn’t exactly bring clarity to a trade I’m still conflicted over, however. Joyce was too valuable to trade for a badly needed closer, yet dealing him for a middle-of-the-rotation starting pitcher (which I concede that the Tigers might need, as well) seemed preferable? Am I missing something here?

Tigers Homeplate sees this as a good deal for the Tigers and Joyce.

The good thing is that Jackson is only 25 years old and has pitched the last couple of seasons in the major leagues so he will being a little bit of experience with him…Joyce should get a crack at the starting lineup down in Tampa so I think it is a good trade for him as he would have been a fourth outfielder at best in the Tigers lineup.

Drays Bay says Joyce is an upgrade over Gabe Gross.

Gross is projected at 1.4 through 600 PAs and 3 runs in the field. That’s 1.9 WAR total.

1.5 + (FLD in wins form) + (BAT in wins form) = WAR

For instance: (1.5+0.7+0.3) = 2.5

Detroit Tigers Thoughts says Andrew Friedman took Dave Dombrowski “to the cleaners.”

This only works out if Jackson finds something and becomes a better pitcher. He’s simply not a good pitcher right now, and that will need to work….I don’t see how this trade makes sense. In doing this, Dombrowski is essentially betting on Carlos Guillen and Gary Sheffield playing 150 games apiece this year. I don’t like those odds.

The Spot Starters takes a closer look at Jackson’s 2008 campaign noting that he ranked near the bottom of the AL in a number of statistical categories.

Edwin Jackson seems to be the classic example of a guy who had a better record than he deserved in 2008. I hate to say that, I absolutely hate it…I don’t think Jackson is a lost cause. Let’s give the guy a shot. Even though he can be up-and-dow, he and his 95 mph+ heater could really do some damage against the opposition in 2009.

The Grand National Championships says Joyce could be Mark Kotsay and has a higher ceiling than Jackson.

Matt Joyce has a little bit of the sleeper to his skills. He played very well in his first half-season in Detroit. He will stike out about 120 times in a season. But his offensive game is very nice. 35 doubles, 25 homers, a passable eye with a slugging percentage that can threaten .500 is magical and rad…And he can play center field for if and when the Rays tire of B.J. Upton’s saucy antics. Could he turn into Mark Kotsay? It’s possible. But Matt Joyce’s floor is a lot higher than Mr. Jackson’s.

Rays from across the pond is not happy to lose Jackson but they understand it.

Obviously losing Jackson is a bit of a shame. He had his best year ever this season, and finally looked as though he was working through his inconsistancy issues. I think that Detroit have picked up a good player there. Still, with the pitching depth that the Rays have, any trade was always likely to involve either him or Andy Sonnanstine. And while Jackson is probably the more talented, I think I’d rather lose him that Sonny – as I’ve said many times this year, Sonny just has a great knack for winning.

Tiger Tales is not sold on the deal.

It was not a surprise to see Joyce traded since Jim Leyland commented about his laid back approach during the summer. I also understand that Leyland likes hard throwing (Jackson has a mid 90s fast ball) pitchers with high upsides. It could turn out to be a good deal but right now I’m not a fan of the trade.

The Wayne Fontes Experience says Jackson should fit right in.

My gut reaction wasn’t a good one. Mainly due to the fact Jackson can’t throw strikes. He’s a base on balls machine. Hey! That means Jackson should fit right in with the rest of the Tigers’ staff!…Rick Knapp is going to have his hands full straightening out ANOTHER Tigers pitcher who thinks the strike zone is just a suggestion…I’ll have to sleep on this trade, maybe I’ll feel more enthused about acquiring Jackson with a little more time. But right now, I’m still calling this off season “a small ball of MEH”

Last night the Rays acquired outfielder Matt Joyce from the Detroit Tigers for Edwin Jackson.

What this trade means for the rotation…
Since the end of the World Series it seemed obvious that the Rays were going to trade either Andy Sonnanstine or Edwin Jackson. To most, Jackson seemed to be the logical choice as his peripheral numbers suggested the 14 wins in 2008 were a bit overrated. And despite a possible move to the bullpen he would have been a very expensive middle reliever.

With Jackson out of the picture, Sonny is a lock for the 4th spot in the rotation. That opens a spot that will eventually be filled by David Price. But will King David fill it in when the team breaks camp? Andrew Friedman made it clear earlier in the week that there is no guarantee Price is in the rotation to start the season. With only 5 starts above double-A, it would not surprise us to see Price in Durham for 5-6 starts to start the season. That means Jeff Niemann, Mitch Talbot and Jason Hammel will battle for the final spot in Spring Training. Since Talbot still has a minor league option, look for Niemann to get the nod as the Rays try to showcase him for other teams and then trade him to the first contender that loses a starting pitcher to injury.

What this means for the lineup…
Joyce fits in immediately at the 6-spot in the lineup as the most-days right fielder for the next six years. If the Rays are able to sign a player like Jason Giambi or Milton Bradley, Joyce falls to #7 with Evan Longoria at #6 to keep the R-L-R-L lineup. But that is another story for another day. In other words, the Rays could do a lot worse than Joyce at 6/7. And more importantly, it means the Rays don’t have to go through this mess again next year.

What this means for the roster…
We will touch on this a bit more later, but this move probably seals the door on Jonny Gomes’ career with the Rays. Already a candidate to be non-tendered on Friday night, that now seems like a foregone conclusion. 2009 will be much less Johnny-terrific. Now the question becomes, do the Rays have room for Gabe Gross? If they tender a contract to Gross, Fernando Perez is almost certainly in Durham in 2009.

What this tells us about the Rays’ front office…
The Rays have the quietest front office in baseball. Even though the Rays were talking with the Tigers for three days, we never heard a peep. Is that by design? Maybe. Most of the Rays trades seem to come from out of left field (so to speak). Did we hear anything before the Gross trade or the Willy Aybar trade or the Chad Bradford trade?

Do the Rays make it a point to keep everything under wraps as tightly as possible? Or is the front office still young enough, and the Rays still a relatively new player, that the national media has yet to establish connections within the front office?

One thing that is becoming very clear. No matter who we, as fans, think the Rays are targeting, most of the time they will get somebody we were not even thinking about. We don’t know about the rest of you, but we love it.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

• Marc Lancaster says the Rays and Tigers have been talking since day one of the winter meetings and that at one point they were working on a three-team deal with the Mariners in which JJ Putz would have gone to Detroit. That seemed to be falling through so the Tigers and Rays decided to keep things simple and make it one-for-one. [Tampa Tribune]
• Two writers are reporting that Milton Bradley has become the Cubs top target to play right field with Raul Ibanez possibly as a fall-back plan. The Rays will likely wait out the negotiations and hope that Bradley and the Cubs fail to reach a deal. If that happens, the Rays may be next in line for Bradley despite the acquisition of Matt Joyce. With the Rays, Bradley can spend a considerable amount of time at DH…Right now it looks as if the Rays top two targets, Bradley and Jason Giambi are both likely heading elsewhere. Would the Rays prefer Ibanez or Bobby Abreu at $8-10 million (and a first round draft pick in the case of Ibanez) over Ken Griffey at $3-4 million? [MLB Trade Rumors]
• Andrew Friedman indicated that the Rays are more likely to acquire a relief pitcher via trade, noting that the Rays need the flexibility of being able to send the acquisition to the minors. Why is this important? Because it took Troy Percival two months to decide he needed back surgery and the Rays are not sure if he will be available to open the season. [Rays Report]
• In the same report, Andrew Friedman said he would not be surprised if the Rays lose as many as three players in today’s Rule 5 draft. Which reminds us. Did you guys bid farewell to Eddie Morlan yet? You only have a couple of hours left to do so. [Rays Report]
• Joe Maddon says he is not concerned about members of the Rays participating in the World Baseball Classic. Marc Topkin lists several players that could be chosen. [The Heater]
• Joe Maddon guesses Team USA will take Carl Crawford and a starting pitcher from the Rays roster. Of course that is only the American players. [Tampa Tribune]
• A recent study showed the Tampa Bay Rays were directly responsible for over $100 million in direct spending by tourists in 2008. The study also showed that more than half of the Rays’ 2008 attendance (1.8 million) came from outside Piniellas County. [Tampa Bay Business Journal]
• Baseball America has the complete list of minor leaguers eligible for today’s Rule 5 draft including 43 members of the Rays’ organization. [Baseball America]

[Update: 11:58pm] Marc Topkin confirms.

[11:30pm] Jon Paul Morosi of the Detroit Free-Press is now reporting that the deal reported earlier, in which the Rays would send Edwin Jackson to the Tigers for Matt Joyce has now been finalized.

Joyce, 24, is a left-handed hitting outfielder that hit .252/.339/.492 with 12 home runs in 92 games for the Tigers in 2008. He also hit .270/.352/.550 with 13 home runs in 56 games at triple-A.

Moving Jackson assures that Andy Sonnanstine will be in the rotation next season and clears a spot for David Price, although Jeff Niemann, Mitch Talbot and Jason Hammel could also get a shot in April if Price is deemed not ready.

And with that, the Edwin Jackson era in Tampa Bay has ended. Some people like to play video games. Some people like to read books. Edwin Jackson liked to impersonate Bob Gibson for four innings and then the Hindenburg for one.

Tigers trade for Tampa Bay pitcher Edwin Jackson [Detroit Free-Press]

According to Ed Price (via MLB Trade Rumors) Edwin Jackson will be traded to the Detroit Tigers for outfielder Matt Joyce.

The Detroit Tigers are set to acquire right-hander Edwin Jackson from the Tampa Bay Rays for outfielder Matt Joyce, according to a major-league source.

Joyce, 24, is a left-handed hitting outfielder that hit .252/.339/.492 with 12 home runs in 92 games for the Tigers in 2008. He also hit .270/.352/.550 with 13 home runs in 56 games at triple-A.

Moving Jackson assures that Andy Sonnanstine will be in the rotation next season and clears a spot for David Price, although Jeff Niemann, Mitch Talbot and Jason Hammel could also get a shot in April if Price is deemed not ready.

And with that, the Edwin Jackson era in Tampa Bay has ended. Some people like to play video games. Some people like to read books. Edwin Jackson liked to impersonate Bob Gibson for four innings and then the Hindenburg for one.

9:32 p.m. — Source: Tigers to aqcuire Edwin Jackson [Fox Sports]
Tigers To Acquire Edwin Jackson [MLB Trade Rumors]

Let’s use this post for minor updates on previous rumors we have heard from the winter meetings and other minor tidbits. Unless something new or substantial comes along, we will continue to update this post the rest of the day.

[Update: 3:09pm] According to Ken Rosenthal the Cardinals have offered Rick Ankiel to the Mariners for closer JJ Putz. No word yet on whether the M’s are considering the offer, but even if it is rejected this sheds some light on what the Cardinals are looking for in return for Ankiel.

[Update: 2:34pm] Marc Topkin chimes in on the Nelson Cruz and Jeremy Hermida rumors. Topkin says the Rays do not like Cruz enough to give up Edwin Jackson. Topkin also is skeptical about the report that the Rays “rejected” the Marlins trade proposal but adds “if the Marlins truly seek…two pitching prospects…they should have rejected it, given Hermida’s thus-far unimpressive numbers.”

[Update: 1:26pm] Mike Berardino is now reporting that the Marlins offered Jeremy Hermida to the Rays for two pitching prospects. The Rays rejected the offer and it appears that discussions are now dead and unlikely to be revisited. Berardino speculates that the two pitching prospects came from a list that includes Jeff Niemann, Wade Davis, Jeremy Hellickson and Mitch Talbot…Two of those pitchers? Wow, that was ballsy.

[Update: 12:24pm] Mike Berardino of the Miami Sun-Sentinel confirms the Rays interest in Jeremy Hermida but a source is telling him that it will take more than Edwin Jackson and that Andy Sonnanstine “would interest the Marlins.” Berardino says the Rays will first “exhaust several other offensive options.”

[Update: 11:23am] T.R. Sullivan is reporting that the Rays have interest in Nelson Cruz. Sullivan speculates that the Rangers are not likely to do the deal for Edwin Jackson. Cruz had a breakout season in 2008, hitting .342/.429/.695 with 37 home runs in 103 triple-A games and .330/.421/.609 and 7 home runs in 31 games with the Rangers. 2008 was his 8th pro season with four different franchises. (thanks bossman)

[Update: 10:36am] The Blue Jays are apparently looking into acquiring an infielder. Bob Elliot of the Toronto Sun (via MLB Trade Rumors) says Jason Bartlett is one player they have looked at…We wonder if the Rays have reached a level as contender where they would not trade within the division.

Yesterday we wondered why there were not more rumors involving the Rays and the Cardinals. Now Joel Sherman of the New York Post is reporting that the Rays are one of five teams that have shown interest in Rick Ankiel.

Ankiel is arbitration-eligible and will be a free agent following the 2009 season. He made $900K in 2008 and Sherman speculates that he will make about $3 million in 2009. Signing Ankiel to a long-term deal is considered unlikely as he is represented by Scott Boras and Boras prefers players wait until free agency.

The other four teams reportedly interested are the Yankees, Braves, Giants and one unnamed team. The Cardinals are said to be looking for starting pitching which means they will most likely demand Edwin Jackson or Andy Sonnanstine.

ANKIEL SHOWS UP ON BOMBERS’ RADAR [New York Post]