December 9 in Rays history: The Elliot Johnson (Shields-Myers) trade

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Where the Rays Make Major Trades and Playoff Series Are Won

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December 9th in Rays History

After months years of trade rumors, Elliot Johnson's time with the Rays comes to an end in 2012. Actually, he was the player to be named later, while James Shields and Wade Davis were sent to Kansas City while the Rays received Wil Myers, Jake Odorizzi, Mike Montgomery, and Patrick Leonard. Johnson actually wasn't added to the trade until February of 2013.

Wade Davis has so far produced the best results for either team as he has become arguably the best shutdown reliever in the league and has led the Royals bullpen in consecutive world series appearances. Meanwhile Shields, Myers, Johnson, and Montgomery are all with different organizations now, with Leonard primed to make the jump to Durham in April. Odorizzi is one of the top arms in the Rays rotation.

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Trivia Time!

The answer to yesterday's question was Wes Bankston, answered first by Ben Tumbling.

Wrong answers included Elijah Dukes, Delmon Young, Aubrey Huff, Josh Hamilton, Jonny Gomes, Rocco Baldelli, and Melvin (B.J.) Upton.

Today's player:

[Player] is an aggressive hitter with outstanding hand-eye coordination and good strike-zone judgment. His bat speed is exceptional from the left side of the plate and should produce plus power down the road. His arm strength is above average and he has good defensive actions. His athleticism should enable him to play anywhere on the field, and he should have enough bat to carry the load wherever he winds up.

Hint:  he was ranked as the team's 5th best prospect following the 2004 season

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There are 116 days until Opening Day!

That's the same number of runs given up by Grant Balfour during his Rays career.

Here's Balfour recording the final out of the Rays first playoff series.

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Links!

- The Braves traded Shelby Miller to the Diamondbacks for a ridiculous haul (considering that Shelby Miller is just good, not great). Moral: trade with Arizona.

- Now that Atlanta has some more of these, take a look at this graphic of top-100 prospects over time.

- The Braves also signed reported Rays target Tyler Flowers to a two-year $5.3 million deal with an option for the third year.

- With the new league-wide focus on pitch framing, it's time to start paying more attention to how pitch framing for catchers changes over time. Dustin Palmateer of Baseball Prospectus does that.

- Dusty Baker speaks.

- Please sign our petition to bring back the Rays original uniforms for a game in 2016

- Random Ray of the Day!

- Need a baseball fix, check out Game 161 from 2011