As the two massive clogs to the off-season continue to hold things up, there is rampant speculation around the game that the Rays will enter a rebuilding phase and trade off their core players, with the likes of Evan Longoria being mentioned frequently.
- Marc Topkin looks into the reasoning as to why the Rays would deal their all-time greatest player
- The Rays have discussed the possibility of adding a couple of veteran hitters, with Mike Napoli and Jose Bautista being available in free agency
- The winter meetings begin on Sunday, Rays beat writer, Bill Chastian previews the 4 day rumor extravaganza
- If Corey Dickerson remains with the Rays through the off-season, they’ll to him to carry their lineup
- Rogers Communications may be looking to sell their stake in the Toronto Blue Jays franchise
- The St Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants seem to be the only two contenders for Giancarlo Stanton. San Fran is confident they’ll get their man.
- An 83 year old life long Seattle Mariners fan, penned a letter to Shohei Ohtani, asking him to join the Mariners
- The Detroit Tigers signed Leonys Martin to a major league deal and former Rays catcher, Derek Norris to a minor league deal.
- That time former Devil Rays color commentator, Joe Magrane, stole home against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the late 1980’s.
- The St Louis Cardinals signed possibly the 2nd best free agent to come from Japan this off-season, as they agreed to a deal with Miles Mikolas
- On the ‘This Week in Rays Baseball’ podcast, Neil Solondz speaks with Rays GM Eric Neander and Tampa Bay Times beat writer Marc Topkin, about the Ohtani sweepstakes and the pitching moves made by the club this past week
TRIVIA
Name the player based of an excerpt from his prospect scouting report from Baseball America
He struggled early in 2003 before regaining strength in his wrist. A disciplined hitter with good pitch recognition and a classic lefthanded stroke that recalls Mark Grace, He sprays line drives to all fields and has power to the alleys. He's still growing and projects to hit 30 homers annually. Defensively, he works well around the bag and his arm is as good as it gets at first base. His instincts and makeup are off the charts. Since his hand injury, hetends to pull off pitches and collapse his back side on occasion. This also might be a result of trying to hit for more power, instead of letting it come naturally. He has below-average speed but is a smart baserunner.
Hint: He was ranked as the 4th top prospect in his organization following the 2003 & 2004 seasons