Late on Saturday, word came out that the trade was official. There was a conference call and a few radio shows this weekend that unearthed a couple nuggets of information worth seeing, so here you go:
- Peter Gammons reported that the Rays had another package being offered from the Texas Rangers: Robinson Chirinos, Derek Holland, Frank Francisco, and Engel Beltre. From all reports, it sounds as though the Rays took the better of the two deals - the one with more total value and upside.
- The final player is the deal was Zach Rosscup, a low-level reliever who's name I hadn't even heard of before. If you want yet another look at a scouting report on the players involved in the trade, including Rosscup, Baseball America has a great article up that's available to non-subscribers.
- Brandon Guyer is a funny dude.
- Tommy Rancel was a part of the conference call with Andrew Friedman, Matt Silverman, and local reporters after the deal was completed. Friedman and Silverman spent some time talking about what they like about each of the players they acquired, and finishing by saying they hope to re-allocate Garza's salary within the team by adding 1-2 more bats and 1-2 more relief pitchers.
- Archer, Chirinos, Guyer, and Fuld will all be added directly to the 40-man roster
suggesting to me that the Rays want them all available to contribute at the major-league level soon.The move by itself doesn't mean much since the Rays had to add them to the 40-man, but it will make it easier for any of them to be used in the majors this season. - Chris Archer gave an interview on the radio yesterday, and Jason Collette jotted down a bunch of notes. They're worth checking out.
- And finally, I love this graphic:
The Rays are built to compete in 2011, but they also have one of the best farm systems in the majors. The Royals currently have a farm system that many consider historically impressive, but remember that the Rays likely have about 10 first-round draft picks in this year's draft. Yankees and Red Sox fans, watch out - we're not going anywhere.