For What It's Worth

by R.J. Anderson on Nov 11, 2007 9:48 PM EST

An odd source to report this, but I suppose it's newsworthy none the less; Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune did a piece on shortstops and included this line:

Tampa Bay is trying to decide between sticking with Brendan Harris, who hit .286 with 12 homers, or trying to acquire a shortstop who would be better in the field.

Jake will be the first to tell you the Chicago media is awful and I tend to think this report cannot be correct, it clearly wasn't the plan last year -- the team had Harris move to second base down the stretch for a reason -- and I'd rather acquire a defensive shortstop with Harris being the first guy off the bench rather than becoming the next Ty Wigginton and being overused in positions he has no business being in or at.

Some other links and notes:
A Cubs fan thinks the Rays - Cubs could hook up on a Cedeno + Hill for Crawford deal -- it would take more than that.

From Eli's MLB Rumors

The Devil Rays prefer defense at shortstop, and are inquiring about Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson. Wilson has been the subject of several trade talks with other teams, but nothing has happened. The Devil Rays seem like a good fit. They could send two or three prospects, maybe Brendan Harris to bring him in. Wilson was pretty solid offensively though, batting .296 with 12 HR and 56 RBI and made 11 errors in 640 chances. Other teams expected to be interested include the Cardinals, Nationals, and maybe Blue Jays.

I have no idea how credible the guy is, but he seems to have a load of interviews with baseball folk. Wilson (08:$6.5M, 09:$7.25M, 10:$8.4M club option ($0.6M buyout) is pretty expensive for a guy who's .790 OPS was the highest since 2004; he's got a good glove though.

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Re: For What It's Worth

I'd like a good glove at short but Wilson's contract is awful.

by sattp on Nov 11, 2007 10:08 PM EST reply actions

Definitely

Maybe they'd eat some of it?

by R.J. Anderson on Nov 11, 2007 10:12 PM EST up reply actions

Hard to tell

Huntington is new, so we don't really know where he's coming from. I think Wilson would be a great acquisition if we could wring a Tino Martinez-like trade out of the Pirates where they eat a lot of his salary.

by Patrick L. Kennedy on Nov 11, 2007 10:53 PM EST up reply actions

I don't think the Cubs fan was proposing that deal

I'm pretty sure he just meant that as a starting point, which it is, but they'd have to add Marmol.

by raysrule07 on Nov 11, 2007 10:30 PM EST reply actions

You're right

I misread it -- gotta love the off-season though, starts in about one day -- should be very exciting.

by R.J. Anderson on Nov 11, 2007 11:07 PM EST up reply actions

Re: For What It's Worth

I'm not sure why you think Phil Rogers is incorrect. Obviously the Rays first choice is to acquire a new shortstop, but at what cost? Remember, in the Rays minds, they are hoping this is but a 1-year stopgap until Brignac emerges in '09.

There are no credible free agent shortstops, which means a trade or possibly Japan (Tomohiro Nioka?). So lets assume for a second that the Rays cant acquire a shortstop at a decent price. Who is the '08 shortstop?

Josh Wilson? No
Ben Zobrist? The liability with the bat is not worth what is only a slight upgrade in glove.

That leave Harris. Harris was moved to second bc the team wanted to see if somebody else could handle short (Wilson or Zobrist). Neither did.

So, in the end Phil Rogers is correct. Acquire a new shortstop or Brendan Harris. His defense is a liability and yes the team would prefer a better glove, but at least the team would know they can count on offensive production.

by RaysIndex on Nov 11, 2007 11:15 PM EST reply actions

Because he has a history of being incorrect?

by R.J. Anderson on Nov 11, 2007 11:16 PM EST up reply actions

Re: For What It's Worth

I do not think the Rays are moving Harris back to shortstop. The move to second was due to their conviction he was costing the team too many runs at short more than the desire to see what Wilson could do. My guess is they get a better defensive shortstop this off-season, but if they do not, then it is either Wilson or Zobrist. Everything I have heard points to the view that they are primarily concerned to upgrade the defense and moving Harris back to shortstop contradicts that intention.

by bobr on Nov 11, 2007 11:48 PM EST reply actions