The Blalock Question/Opportunity

by MichaelB49 on Mar 30, 2010 10:59 PM EDT

Hank Blalock could be this year's Carlos Pena, or at the very least, this year's Eric Hinske. Don't forget what a vital cog Hinske was in 2008. The problem is that he can opt out of his contract if he's not going to get much playing time. The Rays would be better off trading Burrell somewhere to make room for Blalock, who would add some left-handed thunder in general, and specifically in Yankee Stadium. Or, if they keep Burrell, trade Wilie Aybar, because Blalock can play first and third in a backup capacity. Any thoughts?

This post was written by a member of the DRaysBay community and does not necessarily express the views or opinions of DRaysBay staff.

Tweet Comment 12 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Well to be clearer, he can opt out of his contract if he's not assigned to the major league roster.

If the Rays keep him on the big club but don’t play him, there’s not much he can do about that.

Blalock was signed for two reasons. First, he’s Burrell insurance in case Burrell continues to struggle. The Rays are going to let Burrell play himself out of a job just like they let Percival pitch himself out of one. The appeal of Burrell at this point to other teams is only for a team desperate for offense, and seeing how Burrell has potentially lost so much bat speed that he can’t hit anymore, the return value for a player like that is basically the same that existed for Richie Sexton last year; that is, absolutely nothing. They’re not trading Burrell; nobody wants him.

As for trading Aybar, it’s the exact opposite. Blalock hasn’t proven a whole lot in spring training, because it’s spring training. His performance has at the most, earned him an opportunity to be brought on the 25 man. But it he’s not worth much in a trade and he’s not worth the risk of moving a player like Aybar, who is a perfectly fine, average player (who would likely platoon, and possibly start at 1B for a handful of teams). This isn’t a team that’s coming off a 100 loss season; there’s no reason to pick a player with question marks over a player without them.

Second, he was signed as a potential replacement for Pena, who is in the last year of his contract. If Blalock can show that he can have even average offensive productivity and can play 1B acceptably, the team’s not going to consider signing Pena to anything other then a sweetheart deal, which as much as he’d like to stay here, he probably won’t take because the dollar difference will be too large.

I think the team will find a way to get Blalock some playing time. Between him and Burrell, they won’t keep both on the roster for the entire year, but they’ll likely make room for him at least at the start.

by kericr on Mar 31, 2010 12:32 AM EDT reply actions

Joyce starting on the DL gives the Rays a few weeks to evaluate Blalock

Blalock couldn’t find a job last month and there’s a reason for that. I wouldn’t go around trading Willy Aybar who is under contract next season to make room for Blalock.

www.draysbay.com, www.bloombergsports.mlblogs.com, Twitter @trancel

by Tommy Rancel on Mar 31, 2010 6:05 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

Ya I don't see why Burrell or Aybar would need to be moved to keep Blalock

I do feel for Reid Brignac though because it does look like Blalock will get the last spot.

He has put his time in in the minors and couldn’t have done any more this spring to prove he belongs with the big league club. Hopefully he gets a chance sometime in the not to distant future

by Sveet on Mar 31, 2010 9:11 AM EDT reply actions

I'd like to see him forget about his numbers for a few months and just work on seeing more pitches per at bat

His numbers might look like crap while doing this, but he’ll be better served as he learns to really drive pitches and lay off ones that he can’t do as much with.

"It's good to have a little cushion. But it's not going to be easy."

by Andy Hellicksonstine on Mar 31, 2010 9:32 AM EDT up reply actions