Tampa Bay Rays news and links: Encarnacion to Cleveland, rest of dominoes teetering

The Rays are in the market for a power hitting option for DH, but that market has somewhat stalled until some dominoes fall. Well, a big one just fell with Edwin Encarnacion going to the Cleveland Indians.

If the other big power bats have been waiting to see what Encarnacion gets, this could (hopefully) set off a nice post-Christmas shopping spree.

Links:

• Rob Rogacki of Beyond the Box Score details the rather shockingly practical and not bank breaking contract of Edwin Encarnacion.
• Jesse Spector at Hardball Times takes a look at the skepticism that players and coaches have towards defensive metrics. One such skeptical player (who excels at defense no matter the metric you choose): Kevin Kiermaier

I feel like it can be skewed at times, because there are some guys who don’t fare well with all those [numbers] and I know they’re better outfielders than what these certain metrics say they are,”

• The holiday season is very much upon us, and yesterday Kevin Cash and Matt Silverman spent time giving back to the community at the John Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St Pete.

• Craig Edwards over at Fangraphs has a thought experiment on what a peak season for Mike Trout would look like.
• Jurickson Profar has been surrounded in trade rumors for longer than he has been playing baseball. Grant Brisbee showcases why he calls Profar “the strangest trade chip in recent baseball history”.

Finally, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and overall a very Happy Holidays to everybody out there in DRaysBay land!