With Carlos Pena scheduled to come off the DL tomorrow after a rehab start with the Stone Crabs, this is the beginning of many roster decisions in the next two weeks. The first will be what to do when Pena is activated. The Rays could get rid of Gabe Kapler, which would be the popular choice with the fans, since Kapler has not been great this season. They could also let go of Dan Johnson,who has been getting on base for the Rays by drawing walks, not necessarily hitting. Johnson is more versitile than Kapler, having the ablity to play first and corner outfield. The Rays could also go a reliever short in the bullpen and send down Mike Ekstrom until Andy Sonnanstine is ready to rejoin the bullpen. This is probably the least likely of options, considering the bullpen has been getting a lot of work lately and they are in desperate need of extra arms. In this situation, I would release Kapler and keep Johnson, since he has the potential to hit homers and get on base, and he is more versitile.

The next decisions come in a pair, when Wade Davis and Jeff Niemann are ready to come off the DL. You will probably see Jeremy Hellickson and Andy Sonnanstine remain with the team as bullpen help, even though you can hardly warrant removing Hellickson from the rotation. The question is, what will be the corresponding moves? The easy one is to send Mike Ekstrom down. Then, you could DFA Cormier or get rid of Johnson, considering this is only a few days from roster expansion.

As I just mentioned, the rosters will expand to 40 just a few days after Davis and Niemann come off the DL. You will see Ekstrom back, Thayer maybe and you will probably see another lefty or two added. The options are Jake McGee, Brian Shouse, Darin Downs, and RJ Swindle. Jake McGee only lasted two innings in his start last night, so it seems as though they are getting him ready for the bullpen. I could easily see McGee on the team and Brian Shouse as well. Of these options, only McGee is currently on the 40-man roster, so it would take a corresponding move to get any of the others on the team for September.

As for offensive call ups, Dioner Navarro will probably find his way onto the team for September to give the Rays depth at catcher. The Rays could potentially choose Jose Lobotan over Navarro, but the chances of this are low. Desmond Jennings will probably come up to get him a few at-bats off of big league pitching before he is thrown into everyday play next year if Crawford leaves. The most interesting will be Leslie Anderson, who has been fast-tracked to Durham after being in Charlotte only a couple months ago. It seems as if the Rays could be preparing him for Major League at bats this season.

The Rays have many decisions on the horizon when it comes to the roster and knowing the Rays front office, all we can do is sit back and enjoy the ride.

• The Rays were denied their 20th victory of the spring with the loss to the Orioles 4 to 3. This was the final spring game at Charlotte Sports Park for 2010 as the Rays will play the Mets tomorrow at the Trop in the final home game of the spring.
• The big performers at the plate today were Jason Bartlett, who was 3 for 4 with a double and a stolen base, and Evan Longoria, who was 1 for 4 with a two run dinger. Other notables were Ben Zobrist, who was 1 for 3 with a RBI, and Carl Crawford, who was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run.
• On the pitching side for the Rays, Mike Ekstrom had a strong outing, pitching 3 innings of one hit ball, allowing no runs. Carlos Hernandez struggled in his 4 and 1/3 innings, allowing 3 earned on 6 hits.
• The Rays will play the Mets tomorrow at the Trop before heading to Durham to play the Bulls to wrap up the spring. Matt Garza will get the start for the Rays.
• The countdown until Opening Day is at 6 days until James Shields throws the first pitch to the Orioles.

Today we have learned, from MLB Trade Rumors,  of a four team trade involving the Rays that was discussed at the Winter Meetings that fell through. Here is how the trade would’ve ended up:

Rays Recieve: Milton Bradley

Mets Recieve: Gary Matthews Jr.

Cubs Recieve: Pat Burrell and Luis Castillo

Burrell would have then been traded elsewhere.

Angels Recieve: NOTHING! except the salary dump of Sarge Jr.

I have also seen, from Bleacher Report, that this deal would’ve sent Burrell to the Angels and only Castillo to the Cubs.

This deal would’ve been terrible for the Rays. It would not make sense to trade the contract year of Burrell, who is bound to do well this year, for two years of a head case in Bradley. Bradley would’ve been bad for the Rays chemistry, even if he could hit. I would not understand this deal from the Cubs point of view either. Why would you give up Bradley for a second baseman who is on the downhill side of his career and is injury prone. I understand they really wanted to trade Bradley, as now we can see they traded him for Carlos Silva.

All I can say is it is a great thing this deal didn’t go through, as this deal would’ve been terrible for the Rays.

Historically, Scott Kazmir is a terrible hitter. In his career, he is 1 for 8 with an RBI. That is compared to our best hitting pitcher, Andy Sonnanstine, who is 4 for 10 in his 2 year career. It is safe to say that Kaz is meant for the American League. Coming in to Sunday, the Rays were heading to Sarasota, the home of the Reds. The Rays knew they were basically giving away an out when they reached the ninth spot, but that was not important, since all that mattered was that Kaz got his work in.

That is where the magic started. Sarasota is 2 and 1/2 hours and 120 miles from Walt Disney World, but some of the magic seemed to rub off on Scott Kazmir yesterday. Kaz, the worst hitting pitcher on the Rays, went 2 for 3, with a single, a double, 3 RBI’s and a run. He doubled the amount of hits he’s ever had in the regular season. He also tripled his amount of RBI’s. I think that’s magic. On his own, he accounted for four of the Rays 11 runs and HE’S A PITCHER. Way to go Kaz.

Oh, and by the way, he pitched well too, going 6 innings and only giving up two runs, giving him a win in the Rays 11-2 win,

Other notable performances:

Adam Kennedy went 3 for 4 with a run.

Gape Kapler went 2 for 5 with 2 runs and 2 RBI’s.

Matt Joyce, went 2 for 4 with a run and 2 RBI’s.

and,

Shawn Riggans went 3 for 5 with an RBI.

Not what Rays Fans want to hear. Scott Kazmir, who has had many fatigue issues, has decided to pitch for team USA in the WBC. He has been on a short offseason already and now will play in game situations. If he can stay healthy, this could be a good thing to help him get ready for the season. Hopefully, he will not be used much.

JP Howell has also been named to the team. This does not bother me since he is a former starter and can handle the extra pitching and this may help him since he will be facing some tougher opponents in the WBC.

This just proves why the WBC is bad for the MLB.

Not to worry, it’s only the alternate. It will debut March first against the Red Sox. Pretty good, I think. Not much has changed, only the blue trim, but it stands out more.

The Rays have designated Jae Kuk Ryu (Pronounced KOOK YOU!!!!) for assignment to make room for Gabe Kapler.

The Rays have announced 620 WDAE as their Tampa Bay Radio affiliate. WDAE has a stronger signal strength, and that means we will get to see more of Whitney Johnson.

Oh yeah, let’s not forget we hear less of Steve Duemig for 6+ months.

Rays on WBC teams: So far the only Rays playing in the World Baseball Classic are Aki for Japan and Carlos Pena for the Domincan Republic.

http://tampabay.rays.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090113&content_id=3742043&vkey=news_tb&fext=.jsp&c_id=tb

Rays Hire New QA Coach:

The Rays have announced Todd Greene as their new Quality Assurance coach. Tim Bogar previously had this position before he went to Boston. Click the link above for the full story.

http://blogs.tampabay.com/rays/2009/01/rays-sign-kaple.html#comments

The deal is for one year worth $ 1 million. Kapler hit .301 with 8 HR and 38 RBI’s in a part time roll with the Brew Crew last year. Kapler is a great hitter against lefties and will likely be used as a right field platoon with Matt Joyce. This may mean the end of the other Gabe, but Gross hits righties well, so it may not be necessary to release him other than for roster space. If the Rays do not release Gabe Gross, Fernando Perez will likely start the year in AAA. I think this is good move for the Rays. Kapler is 33 and a veteran presence. He also has playoff and World Series experience being with the 2004 Red Sox.

Good bye Rocco Baldelli. Your time here has been fun. Now you can move on to our bitter rivals, the Red Sox. We will always pull for you, but we hope your team SUCKS. Yes, that’s right, Rocco is expected to sign with the Boston Red Sox. Rocco has been a great player and a great guy, but he never lived up to his potiental. He has played 155 games since 2006 due to injuries, and only 28 last season. His injuries started when he injured his leg playing football with his little brother in the backyard.  Then, its been downhill from there. He was diagnosed with a Mitochondrial disorder that makes him fatigued quickly. Last season he was not able to play a full game. He will likely be a reserve with the Red Sox which is a perfect job for him. Rocco is also from Rhode Island, close to Boston. Sorry you got out here…

We will always remember your walkoff hit this year that produced this for our viewing pleasure….

See ya around Rocco, its been great.

Extending on a story previously posted by Jeff Booth, the Rays are close to a deal with Pat Burrell. Both Buster Olney and Ken Rosenthal broke the story. The deal is said to be worth $16 million over two years. In Rays terms, an expensive signing, but in MLB terms this move is quite a steal. Burrell is the right handed pop that we need in our lineup. Burrell does not provide great average, with only a .250 BA last year, but does provide the pop that the Rays have needed for years. He hit 33 homers,and our 2-6 hitters should be some of the most feared in the league, with Upton, Pena, Longoria, Burrell, and Crawford. A great move for the Rays. Burrell will likely become the Rays starting DH and hit anywhere from 3rd to 5th because Pena, Longo and Burrell are likely interchangeable. Burrell is certainly reliable and is not injury prone like the other guys we were looking at. He is certainly not the greatest fielder but can be used in left or right on an as needed basis. We have been waiting for this big move for years and it has finally come. No more sitting around and waiting to see what will happen. Burrell makes our already good lineup better and can help us contend with the Yankees and Red Sox. Here is a comparison of a typical lineup last year compared to what this years will likely look like:

2008 Lineup                                                                                       

1. Akinori Iwamura                                                                     

2. Crawford                                                                                            

3.Upton

4. Pena

5. Longoria

6. Floyd/ Aybar

7. Navarro

8. Gross/Perez/Zobrist

9. Bartlett

2009 Proposed Lineup:

1. Iwamura

2. Upton

3.Longoria*

4. Pena*

5. Burrell*

6. Crawford

7. Navarro

8. Joyce

9. Bartlett

*Interchangeable in any order

Pretty scary huh. None of our 3-5 hitters should hit 5th and CC definately should not be sixth. I like our chances no matter how much money the Stankees throw out. If Joe were smart he would put Upton leadoff and CC second and Aki 8th, but Joe won’t do that. Upton should leadoff because he is the young guy that provides speed and pop that most teams are going to now like in Curtis Granderson, Grady Sizemore and Jimmy Rollins. Thats JMHO. We will see what Joe does with the lineup but either way it is pretty scary. Should be FUN.