Rise of the Rays » Active Ex-Rays

What Might Have Been – LeVon Washington and the 2009 Draft

Michael Emdeyar — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 13:06:17 +0000

The Rays organization are getting a close-up look at 2009 first round draft pick LeVon Washington this week as the Bowling Green Hot Rods take on the Lake County Captains in Midwest League baseball action. Washington was the Rays’ first round draft pick that year who chose not to sign with the Rays, instead spending a year in junior college.

The Cleveland Indians ended up selecting Washington in the 2nd round of the draft last year and started Washington in the Midwest League where he has hit .222 with two home runs and 12 stolen bases.

Looking back, this is the draft that has already produced major leaguers Stephen Strasburg, Dustin Ackley, Mike Leake, Drew Storen, Aaron Crow and the newly promoted Mike Trout. But, all of those players were taken before the Rays made their first pick of the night.

If the Rays missed on anyone, it was the next pick after the LeVon Washington selection of the first round, where the Chicago Cubs selected highly regarded prospect Brett Jackson who is hitting .272 with ten home runs and 32 RBI at the AA level this season. On Tuesday, he had a two home run night against the Montgomery Biscuits.

Former Rays Reliever Gorgen Needs Tommy John

Michael Emdeyar — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 08:53:33 +0000

Matt Gorgen, the player the Rays gave up to get Chad Qualls last season from the Arizona Diamondbacks, needs Tommy John surgery and will miss the 2011 season.

Gorgen was looked at by Arizona as a legitimate bullpen contender in the near future. While in the Rays minor league system, he posted a 1.45 ERA in 142.1 innings with 159 strikeouts and 54 saves over three seasons including 22 last season with Montgomery.

Looking at the Ex-Rays – National League Non-Roster Invitees

Michael Emdeyar — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 23:21:39 +0000

When you look of former Tampa Bay Rays players attempting to hook up with another team in the National League, you don’t find a very deep list. There are a couple of players who had important roles with the Rays, including Gabe Kapler and Gregg Zaun. And then there’s Darin Downs, who came back from a frightening head injury resulting from a line drive off the noggin. And, let’s not forget the throw-in to the big Delmon Young for Matt Garza and Jason Bartlett deal, Jason Pridie.

NL East

Florida Marlins – Darin Downs
New York Mets – Jason Pridie
Washington Nationals – Chad Gaudin

NL Central

Milwaukee Brewers – Shawn Riggans
Pittsburgh Pirates – Joe Beimel

NL West

Arizona Diamondbacks – Matt Gorgen
Los Angeles Dodgers – Gabe Kapler
San Diego Padres - Gregg Zaun

Looking at the Ex-Rays – American League Non-Roster Invitees

Michael Emdeyar — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 16:11:36 +0000

Ex-Tampa Bay Rays players are scattered all over the non-roster invites list. It seems weird, though, that the AL Central would ignore former Rays players. Here are the names and places as it stands today…

American League East

Baltimore Orioles – Mark Hendrickson, Michel Hernandez, Nick Green, Brendan Harris and Randy Winn
Boston Red Sox – Paul Hoover
New York Yankees – none
Toronto Blue Jays – Winston Abreu and Brian Stokes

American League Central – none

American League West

Oakland Athletics – Joe Bateman
Seattle Mariners – Chris Seddon, Adam Kennedy and Gabe Gross
Texas Rangers – Seth McClung, Kevin Cash, Jose Ruiz

More Rays Move Out West

Devon Rogers — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 11:26:28 +0000

More ex-Rays have made their move out west this offseason. Chad Qualls has signed with the Padres to continue adding to the Rays West team, along with Jason Bartlett and Brad Hawpe. More recently, Gabe Gross has joined the Seattle Mariners, becoming their first player with Rays ties.

It will be interesting to see how all the ex-Rays impact their teams this year. There are a few good ones out there, like Josh Hamilton, Delmon Young, Matt Garza and Jason Bartlett. We will just have to wait and see if they can help their teams to victory.

Looking at the Ex-Rays — AL East

Michael Emdeyar — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 04:18:11 +0000

In an effort to save the most painful or last, here’s the short list of players who formerly played for the Rays, and will now try to do harm to the Rays. Clearly, the biggest departure in team history was Carl Crawford this off-season. In my mind, the worst outcomes were that he would sign with Yankees or the Red Sox. Who knew he would take Dan Wheeler along to Boston as his caddy?

And then, the Yankees tried to save face by signing the other elite Rays free agent in Rafael Soriano to be their eighth-inning setup guy. They spent a lot of money to get him. And, Brian Cashman for one doesn’t agree with the move.

Baltimore Orioles – None

Boston Red Sox – Carl Crawford, Dan Wheeler

New York Yankees – Rafael Soriano

Toronto Blue Jays – Shawn Camp

Carlos Pena Looks to Correct Hitting Flaws

Michael Emdeyar — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 00:23:54 +0000

Could Carlos Pena prove that Rays hitting coach Derek Shelton was the second best hitting coach on the market prior to the 2010 season?

After the 2009 season, the Rays fired then-hitting coach Steve Henderson and replaced him with ex-Indians coach Shelton. In the process, they missed a chance at bringing in hitting guru Rudy Jaramillo who had been let go by the Texas Rangers. But, he would have been expensive.

Now, Pena has a chance to rebound from a dismal season that saw his batting average drop below .200. And, now Cubs hitting coach Jaramillo already sees a flaw that Shelton perhaps didn’t.

“He had a lower-half timing issue. He probably needs to get better recognition. When you’re striking out 150 times, it means you’re making bad decisions.

He just wants to be more consistent. I’m going to try to help him learn what he’s doing when he’s doing it right so he can feel it and make that adjustment in between pitches instead of waiting for day-to-day [adjustments].”

Derek Shelton couldn’t figure these things out? With all the video they admit to watch, Shelton didn’t notice a “lower-half timing issue”?

Carlos Pena will probably love hitting in the Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field. I have little doubt that his batting average will be better than last year. How could it be worse? But, if he were to have a batting average of, say, .250, the Rays should immediately send Derek Shelton packing. He will have done the Rays a huge disservice.

Looking at the Ex-Rays — AL Central

Michael Emdeyar — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 04:25:30 +0000

The American League Central is a mixed bag of former Rays talent. Most are trade chips along the way. Edwin Jackson brought Matt Joyce. And, he went on to throw a no-hitter. Against the Rays. Mitch Talbot brought Kelly Shoppach. We’re waiting for that one to pan out. Jesse Chavez cost the Rays Akinori Iwamura, but yielded Rafael Soriano. Not bad.

And then there’s Delmon Young. The tree of prospects that Delmon Young has brought the Rays is incredible. First, he brought the Rays Jason Bartlett and Matt Garza. No real explanation there. Key members of the playoff Rays. Then, those two were traded in separate deals with the Padres and Cubs for prospects that are projected to be special. Delmon Young was drafted by the Rays with a lot of potential. But, his gift to the Rays should continue for a long, long time.

Chicago White Sox – Edwin Jackson

Cleveland Indians – Mitch Talbot

Detroit Tigers – Joaquin Benoit

Kansas City Royals – Jesse Chavez

Minnesota Twins – Delmon Young

Up tomorrow – AL East

Looking at the Ex-Rays — AL West

Michael Emdeyar — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 04:05:26 +0000

The list isn’t extensive, but the names are headliners. The American League West touts only our names from past Tampa Bay Rays teams. But, each one left a mark on Rays baseball history.

Bobby Abreu spent a matter of seconds with the team, merely a formality in a trade for Phillies shortstop Kevin Stocker. Scott Kazmir was, at times, the elite pitcher he was expected to be. But, for whatever reason, his talent declined rapidly and Andrew Friedman found a way to turn him into a boatload of prospects. Grant Balfour was a key member of the sucessful Rays bullpens. And, there’s Josh Hamilton.

Los Angeles Angels – Scott Kazmir and Bobby Abreu

Oakland A’s – Grant Balfour

Seattle Mariners – None

Texas Rangers – Josh Hamilton

Up next – the AL Central

Looking at the Ex-Rays — NL East

Michael Emdeyar — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 04:12:19 +0000

As it currently stands, the National League East certainly isn’t the place Rays fans should look for their stars of the past. As a matter of fact, the names involved can be considered downright boring. The most recent addition to the league is the lefty specialist, Randy Choate.

So, while we might tune in to Phillies games to see the elite starting pitching rotation of Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt or catch a Braves game to monitor the progress of Jayson Hayward, we won’t be tuning into see many Rays of the past.

Atlanta Braves – Eric Hinske

Florida Marlins – Randy Choate

New York Mets – Jason Pridie

Philadelphia Phillies – Danys Baez

Washington Nationals – None

Tomorrow — American League West