Archive for the 'Jason Bay' Category

Apr 05

A Look Back At The Hour That Almost Brought Jason Bay To The Rays

Jason Bay, Jeff Niemann, Reid Brignac Cork Gaines 9 Comments »

phpcVH73hAt the trade deadline last season, the Rays came precariously close to striking a deal with the Pirates for Jason Bay. In fact, the deal was so close, that one writer reported that the deal was done. We won’t mention which writer, *cough* Bill Chastain *cough*.

In the end, the Rays did not make a deal, and Bay ended up in Boston as part of a three-team deal that also included Manny Ramirez going to the Dodgers.

Today at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Dejan Kovacevic looks back at exactly how the trade came to be. He focuses on the chaotic final seven minutes before the trade deadline, at which point the Rays were no longer involved. But Kovecevic does shed some light on how close the Rays came to striking a deal.

  • By July 27, the Rays were one of 5 teams involved in talks.
  • On the day of the trade deadline (July 31), the Rays appeared to be the front-runner. Kovacevic notes that “the Pirates’ feeling at times was that they were closer to a single-team trade, notably with the prospect-rich Rays.”
  • At 3:40 pm (20 minutes before the deadline), the Pirates had narrowed the field to the Rays and Braves.
  • 5 minutes later, the Pirates called the Rays and Braves and asked for specific prospects. In both instances, the Pirates were “summarily rejected.” [Ed. note: At the time, it was believed that the Pirates asked for Reid Brignac and Jeff Niemann, and either one was untouchable or the Rays were unwilling to part with both]
  • At that point, the Pirates felt that Bay would not be traded, even discussing the possibility of offering Bay an extension.
  • Finally, several calls in the final 7 minutes resurrected the deal with the Dodgers and the Red Sox and the deal was finalized with less than a minute to go before the deadline.

Baseball 2009: Seven minutes that changed the franchise [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

Jan 13

[THE HANGOVER] Rays May Have Helped Red Sox Save Money

Andrew Friedman, BJ Upton, Gabe Kapler, Jason Bartlett is looking for glove, Jason Bay, Pat Burrell Cork Gaines 1 Comment »

It was 41 years ago today that Johnny Cash performed live at Folsom Prison. So the iPod will be all Johnny Cash, all day. But if listening to too much Johnny Cash seems depressing, worry not. Today is also Rubber Duckie’s Birthday! Too much information?

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • Rob Neyer agrees that a healthy Jason Bartlett will be much better in 2009 which should help the Rays avoid the “Plexiglass Principle.” [ESPN]
  • And the Baseball Crank delivers what we have been looking for. Pre-injury and post-injury defensive splits for Jason Bartlett. It is not an exact split, but Bartlett’s Zone Rating was .859 in late May. His Revised Zone Rating for the entire season was .807 (6th in AL). This suggests that his rating from June on was well below .800. [Baseball Crank]
  • Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe says the Pat Burrell contract will likely save the Red Sox money as they attempt to sign Jason Bay to a long-term deal. [Boston Globe]
  • Marc Topkin has some quotes from Gabe Kapler on his signing and notes that Kapler could play center field if BJ Upton is not ready to start the season. [St. Pete Times]
  • In the same piece, Marc Topkin notes that the Rays are negotiating with their 5 arbitration-eligible players and Andrew Friedman with the team’s self-imposed January 20 deadline looming. Friedman sounds confident that all 5 players will have new contracts prior to the deadline. [St. Pete Times]
  • Gabe Kapler’s 2009 salary will not be $1,000,018 as previously reported. It will just be an even $1 million. [The Heater]
  • David Chalk at Bugs and Cranks continues his countdown of the top 177 Devil Rays of all time. Today we are at #172. [Bugs and Cranks]

Aug 01

[THE HANGOVER] In The End, Rays Refused To Blow Up Farm System

Andrew Friedman, Jason Bay, Jeff Niemann, Jeremy Hellickson, Mark Teixeira, Reid Brignac, Tim Beckham, Wade Davis Cork Gaines No Comments »



THE GOOD: The future of the Rays remains intact. Despite reports that the Rays were offering the Pirates both Jeff Niemann and Reid Brignac, that now appears to be false. And if that is the case, it is pretty clear that the Rays had little or no intention of tinkering with what has become the foundation of the organization, the farm system. Depth in the farm system is a beautiful thing and it does serve a more important purpose than just being able to trade the pieces away. And with the recent loss of Jake McGee to Tommy John surgery, that depth had already taken a huge hit. Add to that the slowed development of a few prospects (ie. Heath Rollins, Glenn Gibson) and we see how important it is to have depth in the system…Winning the division just got a little easier. RAYSHEADS have to be ecstatic that Manny Ramirez is out of the division and out of the AL. Jason Bay is a decent replacement, but he is no Manny and David Ortiz is suddenly going to start seeing much fewer good pitches. Teams were afraid to pitch to Manny. That won’t be the case with Bay.

THE BAD: We have to admit, that for about 20 minutes yesterday (as this site turned into a Live Blog-A-Baloo for the trade deadline), when we heard that the deal to send Jason Bay to the Rays was going to happen, we got a little excited. The package seemed fair, and maybe even a bit of a steal, and we started envisioning a lineup in which Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria are forced to hit 5th and 6th in the order. We were down-right giddy…The future of Jeff Niemann and Reid Brignac. Both could have gone to the Pirates and had a chance to be regulars on that ballclub. Now they are still stuck in triple-A.

THE TELLING: Several outlets are already declaring the Rays “losers” at the trade deadline. On the one hand we understand the perception that the Rays missed an opportunity to improve the club. Of course, these are the same people that still feel the Rays are behind the Sox and Yankees in the standings. We could understand saying the Rays were “losers” if they had turned down an offer. But seeing the package the Pirates received for Jason Bay, it is clear that the Rays would have never been able to match that deal. And remember the Rays are still going to be adding pieces to the mix. It is just those pieces will come from the farm system.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

  • We missed this in the minor league feature earlier today, but a source with the Princeton Rays tells us the reason Tim Beckham missed 3 straight games this week, was due to a death in his family.
  • Marc Lancaster is reporting that it is believed that the Pirates and Rays never discussed a deal that included both Jeff Niemann and Reid Brignac. And apparently the Pirates coveted Jeremy Hellickson and not Wade Davis as several media outlets were reporting yesterday. [Tampa Tribune]
  • Andrew Friedman said there is very little chance of the Rays making any deals in August in which players must first clear waivers. [St. Pete Times]
  • The Trop comes in tied for #10 in PETA’s annual list of the “Top 10 Vegetarian-Friendly Ballparks”. [PETA]
  • We are not sure we agree with Bugs and Cranks who still has the Rays on top of their power rankings. We gotta go with the Angels, especially after trading for Mark Teixeira. [Bugs and Cranks]
  • And the latest installment of Bugs and Cranks comparison of wins #63 from each of the Rays’ first ten seasons. [Bugs and Cranks]
Jul 30

[TRADE DEADLINE STARE-DOWN] Don’t Expect The Rays To Blink First In Deal For Jason Bay

Jason Bay, Jeff Niemann, Jeremy Hellickson, Reid Brignac Cork Gaines 2 Comments »

[Update 8:40pm] Jayson Stark is reporting that the Rays and Pirates had “very little dialogue” today. This is not surprising and supports the notion that the Rays have made their “final” offer and the Pirates are shopping for better deals. Stark mentions that the Pirates may seek a better deal from the Red Sox who may target Bay if they trade Manny Ramirez…The stare-down continues.

Up until now, we have shied away from most of the trade rumors surrounding the Rays, because most have just been writers telling us what the Rays should or should not do. But for the first time, we are hearing rumors involving the Rays and these rumors seem to have teeth.

If reports are correct, the Rays are having serious conversations with the Pirates about acquiring Jason Bay, who is signed through ’09 and is set to make $7.5 million next season.

The Pirates and Tampa Bay continue to discuss Jason Bay, a process that became deep yesterday, and two prospect names known to be in the mix on the Rays’ end are shortstop Reid Brignac and pitcher Jeremy Hellickson...To be clear, although these names have come up, that does not mean they could be lumped together. Brignac was ranked No. 3 in the rich Tampa system by Baseball America, Hellickson No. 8, and early indications have been that Bay will reap no bounty of prospects.

One can read between those lines and it seems pretty clear the Pirates want Jeremy Hellickson or Reid Brignac. However, most people in the know are saying Hellboy and Brignac are untouchables. We agree the Rays won’t even discuss David Price and Wade Davis, but we have a feeling Hellickson or Brignac could be had in the right deal.

Later in the same piece, Dejan Kovacevic updated the article with this item…

An American League team source just called from Toronto (where the Rays are playing): Says Brignac and pitcher Jeff Niemann are the names coming up most often.

In other words, the Rays are sticking to their guns and insisting the Pirates take Jeff Niemann over one of the top prospects.

Jon Heyman has one source saying the chances of a deal are “50-50″. He also indicates that the Rays offer is the best available, even though Kovacevic says that the Rays have not offered an elite prospect.

No truly elite prospect is being offered for Bay, and no bounty — say, four of a team’s top 10 prospects — is expected, either, as some teams have expressed concern that Bay’s 2008 revival is not far enough removed from his disappointing 2007. That has not stopped management from entertaining offers, though, and doing so seriously…The chance that Bay will stay with the Pirates, the source said, still is better than 50-50.

Right now we have a good old fashioned trade deadline stare-down. Everything we have ever seen from this new Rays’ front office suggests that they will not be the one to blink first. That means no Hellickson. no Brignac.

So now, it seems that the only question is whether another team steps-up and trumps the Rays offer of Niemann (and?) or if the Pirates decide not to trade Bay.

Pirates, Rays, Cardinals discussing Bay [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]
Five players that could be dealt by deadline [ESPN]
Trade Report Blog [SI.com]
Pirates Notebook [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]