After two consecutive evenings of acquisitions by the front office, Rays fans were on pins and needles last night when news broke that the Royals are reaching a breaking point on whether to trade über-prospect Wil Myers:
Sources tell me and @jonmorosi that #Royals may be at critical stage in decision on whether to trade Myers for an SP such as #Rays’ Shields.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 6, 2012
Speculation began for a significant trade after Marc Topkin quoted Andrew Friedman as saying, "There's a few potential outcomes that are really exciting to us and we're going to work toward trying to make them materialize," yesterday afternoon. The obvious candidates to be traded by the Rays are James Shields and Jeremy Hellickson, and much speculation was given to the Rays working Shields for Myers plus other pieces last night.
Tampa Bay was also rumored to be part of three-, four- and five-team trades involving the Diamondbacks, Rangers, Royals, and Indians, with James Shields, Justin Upton, Trevor Bauer, and Asdrubal Cabrera as focus trade pieces.
Meanwhile, the Rays apparently signed Jason Bourgeois to a minor league contract yesterday. First reported by Topkin, his name appeared on the Rays website's list of non-roster invitees to spring training yesterday without any formal announcements. 31-year old Bourgeois is able to play each outfield position, but has never maintained significant time in the majors. His only season of productivity (.294/.323/.357, 31 SB) came in 2011 with the Astros, coming off the bench for the Brewers and Royals along the way.
The Rays were in pursuit of Nate Schierholtz before he signed with the Cubs, tweets Crasnick. Schierholtz will earn $2.25M and projects to be the Cubs' starting right fielder, with David DeJesus shifting to center.
LINKS
- Former Rays players Jeff Keppinger and Randy Choate are getting paid, with Dr. Kepper filling the massive void at third base for the White Sox (3 years/$12M) and the LOOGY landing in St. Louis (3 years/$7.5M). Yes, three years.
- Fangraphs: Reactions to Yunel Escobar's inevitable trade to Tampa Bay, to Keppinger's signing on the south side, and thoughts on the optimal batting order by Bill Petti.
- The Process Report: Tommy Rancel examines the impending platoon of James Loney.
- The Twins are shopping Ben Revere for young pitching, reports Danny Knobler, and Jon Morosi reports Minnesota would need a CF in return.