Mar 07
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: Sweet Swingin’. Matt Joyce got the start in right field against Cliff Lee, maybe the best left-hander in baseball. And in his first at bat, Joyce hit a groundball single to right field. Of course, in the fourth inning he went down looking. But we’ll take 1-2…Wade Davis. Big Dub looked strong during a 1-2-3 first inning. But then Ryan Howard showed up in the second hitting a ball that might still be in orbit. But all-in-all, not a bad afternoon with 2 Ks and no walks.
THE BAD: Unbalanced Schedule. It’s what, a 2-hour drive to Bright House Field in Clearwater from Port Charlotte? Well, that is too far for the regulars to travel, so the Phillies got to face a starting lineup that included one guy that is guaranteed to be in the opening day lineup (Sean Rodriguez) and one guy that might be (Matt Joyce). That’s a recipe for disaster.
THE TELLING: Joe Maddon used a 5-man infield in the 9th inning, saying “”You have to work on it some time.” Of course the infield at the time included guys named JJ Furmaniak, Daniel Mayora and Leslie Anderson. But minor leaguers have to work on it also…Ben Zobrist and Elliot Johnson are due back in the lineup tomorrow…Rays have now gone winless in 7 straight games.
RANDOM THOUGHTS: Small correction. Yesterday we wrote that BJ Upton had received the most playing time so far this spring. That should have read “most playing time at one position.” Desmond Jennings leads the way with 41 innings combined at the 3 outfield spots.
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
Nov 10
Keith Law calls Rafael Soriano, Mariano Rivera and Joaquin Benoit the three free agent relief pitchers most in demand. And with Rivera almost certainly re-signing with the Yankees, that makes Soriano and Benoit the two best relief pitchers on the free agent market.
On Soriano: “You can make an argument that he was the best closer in all of baseball in 2010 — consider the competition he faced in the AL East — and has performed at that level for two years. He’s the best reliever in this free-agent class, but his arm action is long and he’s missed the better part of two seasons with injuries, so there is risk here as well.”
On Benoit: “His change is extremely effective against lefties, and his velocity has increased over the last few seasons as well. You do need to worry about the recurrence of a shoulder injury, but his relatively light workload in 2010 (60 IP) should lessen that concern.”
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
Dec 04
Buster Olney is reporting that Gregg Zaun has agreed to a 1-year deal with the Brewers for a guaranteed $2.15 million. He will receive $1.9 million in 2010 with a $2.25 million team option in 2011 with a $250K buyout.
We feel like we did not appreciate Zaun enough while he was with the Rays. how often do you get a player that has 5 letters in his first name and 3 of them are Gs? So we will take this moment to link to the greatest official player website of all time. Behold the greatness: GreggZaun.com
Dec 04
[Update] Adam McCalvy is reporting that Zaun is close to signing with the Brewers.
[10:56] Gregg Zaun appeared on Toronto radio station 590 this morning.
On when he would sign with a new team: “Possibly by the end of the day.”
On why he couldn’t say who is signing with: “I’ve got to go pass a physical first.”
On whether his new team would be Milwaukee, Colorado, Tampa Bay or Seattle: “Yes, it is one of those teams.”
Our question is: Would the Rays require a physical to re-sign their own player? Maybe it is a league requirement for any free agent. We are not sure. If not, this suggests that Zaun is set to sign with a team other than the Rays by the end of the day. This leaves the Rays one step closer to John Jaso or Jose Lobaton as the backup catcher.
Dec 04
The Rays jumped back up a couple of spots in this year’s rankings of the top farm systems by Baseball America. The Rays are second, behind only the Rangers, who repeat in the top spot.
The Rays will need a strong draft next summer if they want to stay near the top. The top 3 players in the organization, Desmond Jennings, Wade Davis and Jeremy Hellickson could all see time in the big leagues this year and may no longer count as prospects in 2011. Of course the Rays will have at least 4 picks in the first two rounds that could go a long ways towards replenishing the system.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Marc Topkin reports that the Rays have released Ramon Ramirez, opening up a spot on the 40-man roster. [The Heater]
- In addition to the Rays, the Brewers and the Rockies are interested in signing Gregg Zaun. [MLB Trade Rumors]
- Dock of the Rays examines what the various BJ Upton projections for 2010. [Dock of the Rays]
- Jason Bartlett returned to his minor league roots and spoke to the local paper. [Democrat and Chronicle]
- Evan Longoria or Gordon Beckham? Seems like a no-brainer, right? Well, apparently you do need a brain. [Rise of the Rays]
- Gabe Kapler one of the best Red Sox of the decade? OK. [Fire Brand of the American League]
- A former Devil Ray now runs a golf website. [St. Pete Times]
Dec 02
Yesterday, the Rays acquired Kelly Shoppach from Cleveland. The move did nothing to clear up the catching position for 2010. In fact, it just made the situation a bit more complicated.
Assuming Shoppach is one of two catchers on the opening day roster, the question then becomes: Who will be the second? There are several options…
- Dioner Navarro (as part of a platoon) – These are the top two catchers in the organization right now, so this may seem like the obvious choice. However, both hit right-handed pitchers about as well as James Shields hits charging batters. And with about 100 games against righties, that doesn’t seem very productive.
- Dioner Navarro (as backup) – The Rays could give Shoppach 110-120 starts and let Navi get the rest. The upside is the Rays could get lucky with Shoppach posting a strong OBP versus righties. The problem here is that Shoppach would get all the starts versus lefties, leaving Navi to only play against pitchers he doesn’t fare well against. Also, Navi is arbitration-eligible and his salary will be based on being a starter the last two seasons. $2.0-2.5 million is a lot for a backup catcher on a team with a tight budget.
- Gregg Zaun (as part of a platoon) – This may be the ideal situation for the Rays as Zaun hits righties well, is solid defensively and provides leadership. However, with several teams reportedly interested, the Rays may be out of luck if another teams is willing to give Zaun more than 50-60 starts.
- Shawn Riggans (as backup) – This may be the “if all else fails” option. Like Shoppach and Navi, Riggans hits lefties better. With Shoppach on board, Joe Maddon will want to give him his rest versus righties so Riggans is not an ideal backup.
- [Insert catcher here via trade or free agency] (as part of a platoon) – If Zaun signs elsewhere, the Rays will likely set their sights elsewhere. But who? We can speculate, but knowing the Rays it will be somebody that is not on anybody’s radar.
- John Jaso or Jose Lobaton (as part of a mini-platoon) – Let’s say Shoppach gets all 60 starts versus left-handers and half of the starts versus right-handers. That would be about 110-120 starts. That leaves 40-50 starts versus righties. Jaso and Lobaton are both on the 40-man roster. Both have big league experience. Both are cheap. And both hit righties better than lefties (Lobaton: .779 career OPS in the minors vRHP, .629 vLHP; Jaso: .847 vRHP, .760 vLHP). But is either ready to hit big league pitching and is either ready defensively? Jaso threw out only 17% of would-be base stealers in triple-A last season while Lobaton was a little better at 28% in double-A and triple-A combined.
We have to admit, the final option is the one that we are warming up to quickly. Why not trade/non-tender Navarro and let Jaso and Lobaton compete for the backup job in spring training. Best man wins. It would be Andre the Giant versus Hulk Hogan (if Andre the Giant was 6-1 and from Venezuela). The ancillary benefit is that the Rays would save ~$2.0 million that could be better spent in the bullpen, or on a quarterback for the Florida Tuskers.
Dec 01
[Update] The Rays chose not to offer Russ Springer arbitration (via Marc Topkin’s Twitter).
[7:37pm] Marc Topkin of the St. Pete Times is reporting that the Rays have offered arbitration to both Gregg Zaun and Brian Shouse. They are still undecided on Russ Springer.
As we mentioned earlier today, offering each player arbitration does not mean either player will necessarily be back with the Rays in 2010. All three players are type B free agents. By offering arbitration, if Zaun or Shouse signs with another team, the Rays will receive a compensation draft pick between the first and second round in the 2010 draft.
The risk is the chance that either player accepts the arbitration. In Zaun’s case, news that several teams are bidding on his services makes it unlikely that he will accept arbitration. It is even more unlikely if another team is offering Zaun a starter’s role.
Shouse is a riskier proposition. He will be 41 in in 2010. He is unlikely to receive more on the free agent market than a one-year deal for about $1.5 million he would likely make in arbitration with the Rays.
There is a possibility that the Rays already have assurances from Shouse that he will decline the offer of arbitration.
Also, to make room for the addition of Kelly Shoppach to the 40-man roster, the Rays designated Jeff Bennett for assignment.
Nov 30
Today is the deadline for teams to offer arbitration to their free agents. Gregg Zaun, Brian Shouse and Russ Springer are the only Rays to receive either Type A or Type B free agent status (all are type B). If any of the three signs with another team, the Rays can potentially receive a compensation draft pick between the first and second round in the 2010 draft.
In order to receive the draft pick, the Rays must first offer the player arbitration. The risk is that the player could choose to accept the arbitration. The Rays would then be stuck with that player.
BRIAN SHOUSE: It is highly unlikely that the Rays will offer Shouse arbitration. The Rays paid Shouse $1.35 million in 2009 and declined his 2010 option for $1.9 million. While there are no restrictions on what a team can offer a player with 6+ years of experience*, there is the risk that Shouse would win an arbitration hearing. Being forced to keep Shouse in 2010 would be an unwelcome sight considering the Rays already have Randy Choate as a lefty-specialist and presumably no room in their bullpen…No
GREGG ZAUN: Zaun is a little more complicated. On the one hand, the Rays would like Zaun back in 2010 to platoon with Dioner Navarro. So having Zaun accept arbitration would not necessarily be a bad thing. However, the Rays already declined their $2.0 million option on Zaun. If the Rays offer arbitration and Zaun accepts, there is a chance that Zaun could actually make more than $2.0 million. If that happened, the Rays would look foolish. It doesn’t seem unreasonable that Zaun would ask for $2.5 million in arbitration. While we would not be surprised if the Rays offered Zaun arbitration, our guess is that they won’t…No
RUSS SPRINGER: At 41 years of age, offering arbitration would be a nice incentive for Springer to not retire…No
So that is a “NO” on all three. Can you make a case for offering arbitration to one or more of the players in the hopes of receiving an extra draft pick(s) in next year’s draft? Let us know in the comments.
* Players with less than 6 years of experience cannot have their salary reduced by more than 20% in arbitration.
Nov 30
Before the Webtopia, Joe Smith gives us several great tidbits in his latest column…
- On Jake McGee: “McGee feels he’s back to 100 percent. He said he’s throwing 95 mph, and his changeup is better than ever.”
- Andrew Friedman adds that the Rays “haven’t given up on McGee as a starter,” but does admit that moving to the bullpen is a possibility.
- Mitch Lukevics says both Desmond Jennings and Jeremy Hellickson need more seasoning but that Hellboy is further along than the Rays expected, noting that his changeup has “become a factor.”
- The Rays are having ongoing discussions with Gregg Zaun, but several other teams have expressed interest.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe on Carl Crawford: “Crawford is a big clubhouse presence, a player everyone looks up to. There may come a time when Rays ownership bites the bullet and says this is one player they need to keep and works out a long-term commitment.” [Boston Globe]
- The Rays radio duo will return intact next season. [The Heater]
- Around the Majors takes a look at the Rays off-season in the first of a two-part series. [Around the Majors]
- Around the Majors explores the possibility of trading Jason Bartlett. [Around the Majors]
- Not sure why security would let a fan bring a device composed of a bunch of random wires into the Trop, but OK. [Instructables]
http://www.tampabay.com/sports/article1055060.ece
Nov 09
The Rays made several moves today including picking up Carl Crawford’s option. The team also decided not to puck up the options for Gregg Zaun and Brian Shouse. None of these moves are surprising, however there was some suggestion that the Rays could have picked up Zaun’s option.
In addition, the Rays claimed pitcher Ramon Ramirez off of waivers from the Reds.
Crawford will make at least $10 million in 2010 depending on escalators that were built into his original deal. He could make as much as $11.5 million.
Zaun could still re-sign with the Rays at a rate cheaper than the $2.0 million option.
Ramirez is a 27-year old righty that has made 16 appearances (4 starts) in the last two years with the Reds. He has thrown 39.1 innings with 29 strikeouts, 15 walks and a 2.97 ERA (4.60 FIP).
The GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.
