Archive for the 'Garret Anderson' Category

Dec 22

[THE HANGOVER] Pat Burrell And The Rays Could Be A Marriage Of Convenience

Adam Dunn, Andrew Friedman, Bobby Abreu, Garret Anderson, Jason Giambi, Ken Griffey Jr, Milton Bradley, Pat Burrell Cork Gaines 5 Comments »

Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe feels the Rays will add one of Jason Giambi, Milton Bradley, Pat Burrell or Adam Dunn.

Seems as if the prices for these guys are dropping rapidly, and the Rays might be able to add a pretty good hitter to replace Cliff Floyd and/or Rocco Baldelli.

It may seem that way on the surface, but some of these pieces are going to start falling very quickly. To no surprise, we are now hearing that the A’s and Giambi will soon be talking contract. And when push comes to shove, we feel the Cubs won’t let Bradley get away. Bradley may prefer the situation in St. Pete, but at some point the Cubs offer will be too much money to leave on the table.

Of course, that still leaves Burrell and Dunn, both of whom would provide the “impact bat” Andrew Friedman is seeking. But other teams like the Yankees and Angels may become interested if they fail to land either Mark Teixeira or Manny Ramirez. This could force the Rays to become more active in their pursuit of Burrell or Dunn.

And now Jon Heyman is reporting that the Rays and Burrell “are talking” and Heyman calls Burrell a “real possibility” for the Rays.

Burrell originally sought a three-year deal, but in a tough outfield/DH market he might have to settle for a one-year deal. Burrell’s outfield defense has slipped in recent years, but the Rays are mostly looking for offense.

Heyman also adds Bobby Abreu, Ken Griffey and Garret Anderson to the list of targets for the Rays, although this group is clearly “plan B.”

So if Burrell could stand to make more money from playoff-caliber teams like the Angels and Yankees, then why talk to the Rays now? Why not wait? Because the worst-case scenario may scare Burrell.

What if the Angels don’t want Burrell and the Yankees get Manny? What if Giambi signs a deal with the A’s for only $8-9 million, thus lowering an already low bar? And what if the Rays instead sign a Dunn or Griffey, taking a potent offense that will make a DH look very good in 2009, out of the bidding? If this scenario plays-out, Burrell could be forced to sign with a second-division team with a weak offense that will hurt his numbers in 2009 and hurt his chances of making a big score in next season’s free agent market. And he will have to sign for less than he could get from the Rays now.

While we liked the idea of Giambi or Bradley in a Rays’ uniform, we never thought it was a real possibility. But with the current state of the market, Pat Burrell and the Rays could be a marriage of convenience for both sides.

It’s the offseason of hope [Boston Globe]
A’s To Talk Contract With Giambi Soon [MLB Trade Rumors]
Burrell could fill Rays’ DH need [SI.com]

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • It is not in our nature to be mysterious, but we can’t talk about it and we can’t talk about why. [Joe Bucs Fan]
  • Andrew Friedman says the Rays would like to improve their performance against lefties, but will not do it at the expense of hitting righties who account for 70-75% of the games over the course of a season. [Tampa Tribune]
  • Rays Digest takes a look at the middle infielders in the Rays’ system. [Rays Digest]
  • Rays Prospects takes a closer look at the Columbus Catfish hitters from last season. [Rays Prospects]
  • The Examiner takes a look back at the Rays’ game of the year. [The Examiner]
  • Rays Prospects has the winter league stats updated through last Thursday. [Rays Prospects]

Dec 09

[THE HANGOVER] Rays May Be Leading Candidate To Land Milton Bradley’s .436 OBP

Andy Sonnanstine, Edwin Jackson, Garret Anderson, George Bush, Jason Bartlett, Jeff Niemann, Jeremy Hermida, Joe Maddon, Milton Bradley, Stephon Marbury Cork Gaines 8 Comments »

[Update: 10:05am] Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe says Bradley is “in intense discussions with the Cubs.” That makes a little more sense.

[9:29am] As we reported yesterday, Milton Bradley had lunch with Andrew Friedman and Joe Maddon. Maddon said Bradley was “very honest, open and intense. I liked all three.” Madon added that the Rays have plans to meet with other outfielder/DH types.

According to Ken Rosenthal (via MLB Trade Rumors), Rangers officials believe the Rays and Royals are the leading candidates to land Bradley.

Dayton Moore of the Kansas City Star says the Royals are not involved. That might leave the Rays as the leading candidates for Bradley. In fact, we are yet to hear any other teams with serious interest. Surprising for a guy that hit .321/.436/.536 last year with an OPS+ of 163.

However, Bradley does have a history of knee problems and last year’s 126 games marked only the second time in 9 seasons in which Bradley played more than 110 games. Significant playing time at DH could go a long ways to keeping Bradley on the field.

Milton Bradley Has Lunch With Andrew Friedman And Co. [Rays Index]
Rays smitten by Bradley’s ‘honesty’ [Yahoo! Sports]
9:56 p.m. — Bradley seeking new home? [Fox Sports]
Bradley To Rays Or Royals? [MLB Trade Rumors]
Royals still searching for ways to add impact free agent [Kansas City Star]

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • Tyler Hissey of Rays Digest will debut “The Rays Rundown”, a live call-in show this morning at 11:00. [Rays Digest]
  • Does anybody else find it strange that Marc Topkin will report on some rumors from the winter meetings and he “will ignore” others? How does he decide which rumors are worth reporting? Does Topkin have some special power of deduction that can tell which rumors are true and which rumors are not? Aren’t all rumors from the winter meetings at least somewhat newsworthy, in that each rumor has at least some people are talking about it (usually other people like Topkin), even if some are ridiculous? Or does Topkin pass on some rumors because they come to him while he is busy watching “The Bachelor”? [The Heater]
  • Yesterday we learned that the Rays might be involved in the Padres efforts to move Jake Peavy to the Cubs. Later we heard that the Padres and Cubs had figured out a way to make the deal happen without a third team. Now, Corey Brock is reporting that the particulars of the deal have been agreed upon and that there is a third team involved and possibly a fourth. Might the Rays be one of the other teams? [Hot Stove Blog]
  • MLB Trade Rumors says a third team is the Orioles, but there is no word if a fourth team is confirmed to be involved, noting that attempts to get a third team involved included talks with “four to five clubs.” The Padres are said to want major league-ready pitching. If the Rays were involved, it almost certainly means the Rays would send the Padres Andy Sonnanstine, Edwin Jackson or Jeff Niemann. [MLB Trade Rumors]
  • Buster Olney says he would “be shocked” if Rocco Baldelli does not sign with the Red Sox. [ESPN]
  • Joe Maddon spoke highly of free agent Garret Anderson and Kevin Baxter of the LA Times wonders if Anderson might be a good fit for the Rays. [LA Times]
  • We are surprised there are not more rumors involving the Cardinals and the Rays. The Cardinals would like to move a left-handed hitting outfielder (Rick Ankiel, Skip Schumaker, Chris Duncan, Colby Rasmus) and are looking for pitching. Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says the two teams would be a good match. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
  • Mike Berardino of the Miami Sun-Sentinel shoots down the possibility of the Marlins targeting Jason Bartlett in a Jeremy Hermida deal. Berardino says that the Marlins would prefer to keep Hanley Ramirez at shortstop rather than move him to the outfield. [Miami Sun-Sentinel]
  • Joe Maddon let it be known that he has been invited to a small dinner with President George Bush and his wife at the White House. [Rays Report]
  • Joe Maddon spoke with reporters from the Winter Meetings. [MSN Video]
  • Joe Maddon said he hoped to see Rays fans on his honeymoon in Europe. He succeeded. [Big League Stew]
  • The Hudson Valley Renegades will pay tribute to Stephon Marbury next season. [Rays Prospects]
  • And yes, this is the first time in the history of Rays Index in which a post referenced President George Bush and Stephon Marbury. Yes. We Love Lamp.