Clearly, it comes down to one of three players:  Elliot Johnson, Casey Kotchman or Felipe Lopez.  None of the three are high impact roster guys.  All serve a complimentary role with the team.  A couple of days ago, I would have answered that it would probably be Lopez that would go.  Today, I’m not so sure.

Lopez and Johnson would seem to have duplicate skills.  Their versatility places them in essentially the same positions on the field, although Joe Maddon seems more willing to throw Elliot into the outfield than he does Lopez.  On the other hand, Felipe brings a veteran bat to the lineup whereas Johnson does not. 

I have to wonder if it won’t be Kotchman and his stellar defense that will be let go.  I know the sample is small in his time with the Rays, but I’m not sure I’m seeing anything more than Travis Lee.  Good glove, but not crazy about the bat.  Unfortunately for Kotchman, the sample size gets larger when you look at his time with the Angels, Braves and Mariners. 

Barring another injury between now and next Wednesday, one of these three will most likely be on their way out.  Each of them is out of options, so they could be in their last days with the Rays.  Today, my money is on Kotchman.

[picappgallerysingle id="1552509"]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?

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.

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 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.

“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.

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.

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.