The Rays have officially ended the three catcher project, choosing to go with Kelly Shoppach and John Jaso, and sending Dioner Navarro to Durham, as Joe Maddon said in his post-game press conference.  This was the right move, as Navi has not done well since 2008.

It will be interesting to see if Matt Joyce, who replaces Navarro on the roster, will be in the starting lineup tomorrow night to face Edwin Jackson.  With Jackson’s fast start last season came a lot of talk of how lopsided this trade was.  But, Edwin cooled as the 2009 season went along.  Then, he was traded again in the off-season, setting up the possible head-to-head Joyce vs. Jackson matchup.

Is this where Elliot Johnson ends up?  According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Rays and the Pirates are in minor trade discussions.

Virgil Vasquez appeared in 14 games with the Pirates last season, seven as a starter.  He was 2-5 with a 5.84 ERA and a 1.701 WHIP.  Not all that impressive.  But, at Triple-A, he started 19 games, going 7-4 with a 3.93 ERA and 1.226 ERA.

I’d agree if this is the deal, it would appear minor.  But, wouldn’t it be ironic if Elliot Johnson ends up in Pittsburgh and actually starting ahead of Aki?

Update 4/2/10: The Rays acquired Virgil Vazquez for a player to be named later. Could this be Elliot Johnson?

The Rays are whittling away at their roster, with 11 more players sent out from camp to the minor leagues. 

Probably the biggest name, or perhaps most disappointed, is Justin Ruggiano who had an excellent camp.  But, all things considered, hitting .447 for the spring still didn’t give him much of a chance of breaking camp on the big league roster. 

During the off-season, the Rays started to build a stockpile of first basemen.  Two of them, Dan Johnson and Ryan Shealy, also got demoted this afternoon.  For Johnson, he might be on the move, as he is out of options and must clear waivers to take an assignment in Durham.  Again, this is no surprise, considering the Rays still have Hank Blalock in camp and Willy Aybar returning.  There really wasn’t room for either on the roster.

The remaining Rays being reassigned were Winston Abreu, Joe Bateman, Jeff Bennett, Richard de los Santos, Carlos Hernandez, Heath Phillips, Angel Chavez and J.J. Furmaniak.  Like I said, really no surprises here. 

The Rays are down to 34 on the spring roster.  The hardest cuts are yet to come.  It still wouldn’t surprise me to see Andy Sonnanstine traded, ideally for a lefty reliever.  And, in the race for back-up slots at third and first, I would not be shocked if Hank Blalock beat out Willy Aybar.  Of course, Aybar is out of options, so he, too, could be dangled as trade bait.

The 27-year-old Cuban baseball player that the Rays signed today comes in with a pretty decent resume.  He’s a career .320 hitter while playing eight seasons in the Cuban National Series, including .381 last season.  It’s said that he projects at about 15-20 home runs, so average power.  And, defensively, he’s played all three outfield positions and has a gold glove at first base.

But, according to ESPN the Magazine baseball writer Jorge Arangure, Jr., at least a couple of big league scouts who recently watched Anderson work out came away unimpressed.  In his ESPN Insider blog, Arangure quotes one baseball executive as saying:

“He was mediocre at best. Very average tools.”

And, in more detail, there’s this from a scout:

“Leslie showed a below average arm while throwing from centerfield and first base. He ran badly from home to first base. During batting practice he hit several line drives, but showed no power. Defensively, he’ll need to play either first base or left field and hit with a very high average and lots of home runs, and right now I don’t project that he could. I’d have to think he needs to have another showcase since he didn’t hit against live pitching, but instead just had batting practice.”

Of course, none of this matters.  Yet.  He will arrive in Port Charlotte any day now and should begin to display what kind of talent he brings.  While his agent believes Anderson could make the majors out of camp, I’d have to say a better bet is to see him start his career in Durham.

 

Right after the 2009 season, the Rays re-signed Gabe Kapler to a one-year contract.  He will cost the rays $1.05 million for his less-than-stellar .239/.329/.439 stats.  He gave the Rays 8 home runs and 32 RBI.

Then there’s Jonny Gomes.

Gomes had a pretty decent season with the Cincinatti Reds.  His 20 home runs and 51 RBI along with splits of .267/.338/.541 squash Kapler’s numbers.  And, that’s before you consider the energy that Gomes appears to give a team.  He’s seems to get knocked for his defense.  But, if he’s flanked by Carl Crawford and BJ Upton, couldn’t that be hidden?

Is it too late for the Rays to take a mulligan?

The Boston Red Sox have designated Julio Lugo for assignment today, ending his stay in Boston.  As quoted in the Boston Globe, Lugo could only speak in metaphors:

“When you see a good looking girl, you get married and sometimes things don’t work out,” Lugo said. “I gave it my best and unfortunately things didn’t work out. This is the best for both parties. I wanted it to work out but it didn’t.”

It sounds like the Cubs, Mets and Cardinals are interested in his services the rest of the year.  But, here’s my question.  It it were the balance of the league minimum, would he look better on the Rays roster than, say, Joe Dillon?

The Rays traded Winston Abreu today to the Cleveland Indians for minor league relief pitcher John Meloan.  Abreu is expected to join the Indians’ bullpen in the next few days after a corresponding move can be made with the big league club.

The Indians are desperately trying to improve a bullpen that has a 12-17 record and a 5.07 ERA which is second highest in the American League.  Over the weekend, the Indians traded Mark DeRosa to the Cardinals for reliever Chris Perez and a player to be named later and claimed Jose Veras off waivers from the New York Yankees.

The Washington Nationals optioned Elijah Dukes to Triple-A Syracuse today.  According to the Washington Post, the Nationals don’t consider Dukes a “finished product” and want him in a lineup everyday, as long as it’s not the Nationals’ lineup. 

“I didn’t see the consistent at-bats I wanted Elijah to have,” (Acting General Manager Mike) Rizzo said. “I think he understands this is a developmental process… He can use this time to right himself down there.”

Reportedly, the Nationals are at least listening to anyone who might be interested in trading for Dukes.  You have to wonder how many teams are out there that would take on that kind of baggage.  The Rays were so willing to get rid of him that they traded him to the Nats for Glenn Gibson who is pitching for the Hudson Valley Renegades.  So far, in two starts, Gibson has given up nine earned runs and has walked nine batters in just 5 1/3 innings.

Last season, Eric Hinske played a key role in the success of the Tampa Bay Rays.  Now, he’s on the way to the dreaded Yankees to help them keep the Rays at bay. 

The New York Yankees traded a couple of minor league players, 23-year old pitcher Casey Erickson and OF Eric Fryer to get Hinske, who was batting .255 with one home run and 11 RBI with the Pirates.  The Pirates also give the Yankees $400,000 to help cover the remainder of his salary.

Last season, Hinske hit .247 with 20 home runs and 60 RBI with the Rays.  And, as a result of this decent season, the Pittsburgh Pirates signed him to a 1-year $1.5 million dollar contract in the off season.

According to the Boston Globe, the return of Jed Lowrie may spell the end of his days with the Red Sox.  And, ironically, it may also be the play of another ex-Devil Rays player, Nick Green, that helps put him away. 

Lugo has not started for the Red Sox since June 14.  His high-priced contract and sporadic play clearly makes it unlikely that the Red Sox could find anyone willing to trade for him. 

In 2006, the Devil Rays traded Lugo to the Los Angeles Dodgers for minor league prospects Joel Guzman and Sergio Pedroza.  While Guzman did make it to the big leagues for a handful of games, both are no longer in the Rays organization.