I figured this was big enough to get its own thread rather than being lumped in with the Gameday thread down below…
From Marc Lancaster:
TORONTO—The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports today that the Pirates are “deep into trade talks” with the Rays and “other parties” about Jason Bay.If the Rays could get Bay without giving up an elite prospect, as seems to be the expectation based on this note, you’d think they’d jump all over that. The guy was a big disappointment last season, but he’s a major league hitter and certainly could help this team.Later in the story, Dejan Kovacevic mentions lefty reliever John Grabow as the player he believes is most likely to be traded. If the Rays really are serious about Bay, perhaps they would go for Grabow as well, considering they’re understood to be seeking lefty bullpen help at the moment—hence the links to Will Ohman, Arthur Rhodes, etc.
I’ll have my take in a little bit.
Tags: Jason Bay
July 30th, 2008 at 11:38 am
Mixed emotions for me here. Bay is having a good season. At .284, 62 RBI, and 22 HRs, he would come in leading the team in home runs and 2nd in RBI and average. Clearly, this would be an improvement, and aid the Rays in their LHP woes. Where I get worried is in the question of what do you give up for Bay? Obviously a pitching prospect would have to go, but who else? Brignac? Not very likely.
You also have to consider Rocco Baldelli. Sure, its a long shot, but his rehab stint is done on Friday. After that, Maddon said he would rejoin the team here:
“I think as he continues to progress this way we can start thinking [about getting him back],” Maddon said. “It’s the old setback. If he can avoid the setbacks, I think we can continue to be optimistic that he’s going to return, and I would have to say relatively soon.”
“He’s still reporting good,” Maddon said. “We are taking a good look at him right now and he has been responding very well. Seems to be that the recovery is a little bit quicker, so we’ll see.” –
Raysbaseball.com
Maddon said Baldelli wouldn’t need to move up first to Triple-A Durham. “He would come here whenever that moment is” and get readjusted to major-league pitching, Maddon said. – The Heater
So, the real question is, what if Rocco comes in and starts hitting like the 5-tool player he was supposed to be? Sure it may not happen, but I’ll be devil’s advocate here. You give up top prospects for Bay at the deadline Thursday, and maybe get their pitcher Grabow also. Then Rocco comes back and starts raking. Is Bay just an expensive insurance policy on Rocco? If that is the case, we are back to the same old problem of having too many capable outfielders. So, I guess it could be worse.
The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of having Jason Bay somewhere in the middle of our line-up. Perhaps you move Pena down until he responds and gets that average up a little. But with Rocco coming back seemingly imminent, and then Bay joins the team, who do you send packing?
July 30th, 2008 at 3:14 pm
If Rocco is an emotional priority for the Rays or possible quality return, then it makes more sense to DFA or trade Gomes (bag of bats?) and bring up Ruggy for now. If, however, Andy wants to position the Rays for a run this year AND next, then a trade for Bay is the better option if a price that does not include the crown jewel prospects can be agreed upon. Good luck, Andy…keep on the phones and keep slurping the coffee.
July 30th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
“In a surprise move, the Yankees have acquired catcher Ivan Rodriguez from the Tigers for Kyle Farnsworth according to Buster Olney. The move should save Detroit about $2.6MM and could help their ‘pen.”
July 30th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
So much going on and I forget wear I read it but Justin Ruggiano was also in the trade. That almost makes since because the never give him to much of a look. I personally like the rug man
July 30th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
I luv ruggy. bring him up.
July 30th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
It’s obvious that the Rays aren’t sold on Ruggiano being a full-time major leaguer just yet. I think he at least deserves a shot, but I trust the Rays brass thus far, so I’ll side with them. I have heard that Brignac could be in the deal, but only if we were to get Grabow along with Bay. For Grabow and Bay, I am thinking the deal would be similar to as follows: Brignac, Ruggiano, Houser, and Hammel. Maybe they could make the Pirates take Gomes off our hands, too. If we don’t make a deal, though, I still won’t be too upset. With 55 games left in the season, if we go 23-22 to finish off the year, we’ll have 96 wins. That should be good enough to win the division with a little comfort. We just need to keep our eye on the prize here. One game above .500 for the rest of the year probably wins the division with room to spare. Would Bay and Grabow probably help put us above and beyond what we could imagine? Possibly. But I definitely think we can win 96 games games with who we have right now. Gomes, while he’s not producing at the plate, is a great clubhouse guy and has done a nice job on the bases for us. So, while I think he could be considered deadweight, he can always stay until Rocco arrives, and continue to be a pinch-runner and cheerleader. The bullpen can always be boosted from within. We have 2 guys in Durham that I think could step in right now and be a boost if necessary-Salas and Thayer. And I heard a report that Price is definitely coming up soon, and will be in the bullpen. So, there are 3 guys who could be relievers for the remainder of the year. We are definitely looking solid for a playoff push, no matter if we make a move or not. Bay and Grabow could be nice, but aren’t a necessity.
July 30th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
Boston or NY will win the division if Rays only play .500 ball from here on out.
July 30th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
If we win 96 games and lose out on the division title, then I will simply tip my hat to whoever does it. In our division, everybody is just beating each other up. We have 25 games left against our division. I think it is realistic that we could go 13-12 in those games. That leaves us with 30 games against the rest of the AL. I think we could definitely win 18 of those games, but even at 15-15, we’d still look good. I had my numbers wrong earlier, so we’d have to go 28-27 with our 55 remaining games. Another thing to keep in mind is our home schedule. We have 25 games left at home, and I can see us winning at least 17 of those games, which leaves us only having to go 11-19 in our remaining road games to reach 96 wins. If we finish the remainder of our games with a 28-27 record to end up at 96 wins, and don’t win, then I would be rather surprised. Not to mention that 96 wins would far exceed any outlook anybody truly had at the beginning of the year. This has been a great season so far, and I am more than happy with how things have turned out overall.
July 30th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
They better get started. BOS 2 LAA9 BOS now 3 in back of us, Yeah