You might think we're in the middle of Spring Training at the moment, but you'd be mistaken: we are firmly in Extension Season right now. The Rays typically lock players up sometime between January and April, which makes sense when you think about it; it allows both sides plenty of time to hammer out the details, and it avoids the craziness of the off-season and the day-to-day slog of the regular season.
Apparently, it's not just the Rays that do this. Just yesterday, the Royals locked up catcher Salvador Perez to a five-year deal, the Reds signed Sean Marshall to a three-year deal, and the Cardinals inked Yadier Molina to a five-year deal. For more on these deals, check out R.J. Anderson's analysis over at BPro. I'm a big fan of the first two deals, but the Molina extension gives me pause for similar reasons as R.J. lists.
At this point, I'm somewhat curious if the Rays will have any more contract extensions to announce this year. Matt Joyce has seemed like a likely candidate for some time, and David Price has recently been quite vocal about wanting an extension. I still think signing Price would be tough -- he'd have to be willing to take a steep discount -- but judging by his enthusiasm, maybe it's not such a stretch?
- "You don't have to worry about me unless you're a criminal or a communist." ~Luke Scott, who apparently has a pair of hunting spears (used for hunting boar) in his locker.
- BurGi put together an aggregate list of where Rays prospects fell in the Top 100 rankings. I can't wait to see what Hak-Ju Lee can do this season...
- Speaking of Lee, he apparently showed off some nifty dance moves in camp yesterday. See, even major league ballplayers get bored with spring training.
- Tommy Rancel has a piece up today on Brandon Gomes, and I really enjoyed the lead to this story. I'd forgotten about Maddon's "five stages".
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