As the Rays were busy on the field completing what is known as "epic fail," it seems that Andrew Friedman was working his magic behind the scenes. According to multiple reports from ESPN...
Jayson Stark and I heard this: Tampa Bay involved in discussions for Jayson Werth.
The Phillies have talked to multiple teams about Werth, but a source indicated Tuesday night that Tampa Bay appears to head the list of interested teams.
As the story goes, the Phillies have the hots for Roy Oswalt, but would like to free some payroll space at the same time. Moving Werth would give them some more payroll space; enter the Rays.
Here is what we had on Werth a few weeks ago with updated numbers
Jayson Werth
Rest of Season Salary: $2.85M
Rest of Season Projection: .380 wOBA, 10.1 wRAA (~1.0 offensive WAR)
Contract Status: Free agent at end of season, likely Type A
Notes: Werth is a right-handed hitter that provides both pop (36 homeruns last season, .222ISO this season) and on-base skills (12.3% BB%), and he's an above-average to elite defender in the outfield as well. He could fill in as the Rays' everyday right fielder, or he could also slide into the DH role, providing the Rays with even more flexibility. The Phillies have made some questionable trades and roster decisions in the last couple of years (notably the Cliff Lee tango of trades, the Ryan Howard extension, and the Raul Ibanez contract), which means it might be possible for the Rays to acquire Werth in a steal. At the very least, it's Werth considering.
Werth is an average to slightly above-average defender which means the Rays could use him in the field and rotate the DH spot among regular starters. With the flexiblity of Ben Zobrist, Sean Rodriguez, and Reid Brignac, Joe Maddon could think of a million possible lineups. Offensively, he is a consistent performer in the .370-.380 wOBA range. His batting average of .283 is a bit elevated due to a higher-than-usual BABIP if (.349), but I'd gladly take a .265/.360/.500 hitter in the middle of our lineup for the right price, of course.
There have not been any names speculated from this end.