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It's Christmas Eve, y'all. Merry, merry.
The Rays claimed Jerry Sands off waivers from the Pirates, says Jason Collette at The Process Report. He's a right-handed outfielder who can allegedly play good defense, but who has a monstrous strikeout rate in the minors. It's unclear what this means for Brandon Guyer, but this seems to me more like insurance move than a replacement.
Speaking of right-handed outfielders, Neil Weinberg, at Beyond the Box Score, talks about why Nelson Cruz hasn't signed yet. People are talking about him getting elite-hitter money, but that's not who he is. He's a decent hitter who can't play much defense. And Weinberg refutes the idea that right-handed power is a scarce commodity. I would claim that even if it were scarce, that doesn't make it disproportionately valuable.
Conor Glassey, a former intern at Baseball America, has an article rounding up major league players who never appeared on a Baseball America top 100 and looking for patterns. Is there a certain type of player that's a blind spot for prospect lists? (h/t FanGraphs) Among the overlooked players he identifies is the Rays' Vince Belnome and Andrew Toles.
Wendy Thum rounds up baseball money issues from 2013.