X-Rays Spex

A Below Average Rays Fan Blog

  • Categories
    • The New What Next
    • Looking Backward While Moving Forward
    • Lineups
    • Hot-Stove
    • Two Minute Hate
    • This Week in Rays Baseball
    • Caption Contests
  • About
  • Events
  • Contact Us

Of the First Games of Spring Training and David Price (Updated)

February 20, 2013 By Schmitty Leave a Comment

David Price in the foreground, Roberto Hernandez on the mound. (Photo courtesy of Marc Topkin/Tampa Bay Times)

David Price in the foreground, Roberto Hernandez on the mound. (Photo courtesy of Marc Topkin/Tampa Bay Times)

With Spring Training now in full gear, the Rays will see their first Grapefruit League action Saturday, taking on both the Pirates and the Red Sox in a pair of split-squad games. The Rays will not have an intraleauge game this week because of the split squad games. Slated to pitch against the Pirates are Roberto Hernandez and Jeff Niemann – two pitchers battling it out for the last spot on the rotation. Enny Romero will get the start against the Red Sox in Ft. Myers. Chris Archer, who’s also battling for a spot on the rotation, will get the start Sunday, with Alex Cobb and David Price following on Monday and Tuesday respectively.

Roberto Hernandez has apparently been impressive so far this spring, which could make the battle for the last spot on the rotation interesting. Rays skipper Joe Maddon was quoted as saying,

I love the quality of the seven or eight, whatever it’s going to be, I love the quality of the decision-making there. It’s going to be very difficult.

Hernandez is expected to stick as a long reliever, though a quality spring will make it very hard on Maddon to make a final decision. In all honesty, I think the final spot on the rotation is up for Niemann to lose. Chris Archer is ready, and hungry, for a spot, as are both Hernandez and Jake Odorizzi. A weak spring on Niemann’s part will, arguably, spell the pen for him.

In other news, according to an MLB Trade Rumors piece, David Price was quoted as saying that he “would love” to continue pitching for the Rays over the long-term, though the odds of the Rays retaining him over the long-term are nil at best. Price mentioned that he’s “not taking a discount” to sign long-term with the Rays, while also noting,

I don’t play this game for the money, but I don’t want to be under-appreciated. What I’ve done for this organization so far, I feel like I’ve helped this organization a great deal. So if they want to show me some appreciation, then fine.

Put it this way, I highly doubt that the Rays will be able to net enough money via the projected new revenue streams, and ticket sales, to keep Price here past the 2014 season. Many have speculated that this could be his last season with the Rays. Whatever the case, it’s all but certain that King Felix’s huge contract will have an impact on any contract talks between Price and the Rays, or any other team that may be looking to get their hands on the 2012 Cy Young Award winner. And though a long-term contract with Price may not surpass that of King Felix, whatever he may be seeking will likely be more than the Rays can dole out. In the words of a friend, “I’d say enjoy Price while he’s here and hope like hell the Rays can get some impact pieces in return for him before he hits free agency.”

Noteworthiness

If you missed our Links For Finks post, you missed the MLB 411 composite projections. You just may want to check that out.

Also, the Tampa Tribune published an article titled, Ybor City apartments pitched as Tampa Bay Rays stadium site in their February 21st issue. The author of the article asserts that the property in question, sandwiched between Ybor City and Downtown Tampa, addresess a number of issues the city has been dealing with for years in that neighborhood, such as blight and lack of economic growth.  However, as Noah Pransky noted in his latest piece,

But before you waste too much time giving the proposal any credibility, realize a few things:

1. Finding land isn’t the problem in the Stadium Saga, it’s finding money to build a stadium.  And of course, this proposal mentions nothing of a stadium funding source.

2. There are a dozen reasons why a stadium in blighted Ybor City doesn’t make sense.

3. Fixing blight is a big reason why the Trop sits where it does, and how is that working out for baseball fans?

In short, I wouldn’t hold my breath on this one. Then again, I reckon a trip to Ikea followed by an early evening game could be nice.

Share

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Chris Archer, David Price, Grapefruit League, Jake Odorizzi, Jeff Niemann, MLB, Noah Pransky, Rays Starting Rotation, Roberto Hernandez, spring training, stadium saga, Tampa Bay Rays, Ybor City Stadium Site

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

* Copy This Password *

* Type Or Paste Password Here *

Follow Us!

Follow Us on FacebookFollow Us on Google+Follow Us on TwitterFollow Us on FlickrFollow Us on RedditFollow Us on TumblrFollow Us on SoundcloudFollow Us on Instagram

Sign the pledge to support the Rays' future in St Pete!

Sign the Pledge
Buy Rays Tickets

baseball-forever-logo

Recent Posts

  • Tampa Bay Rays Spring Training, day seven
  • Tampa Bay Rays Spring Training, day six
  • Tampa Bay Rays Spring Training, day four
  • Tampa Bay Rays Spring Training, day three
  • Notes from the first day of Rays Spring Training

Recent Comments

  • belowaverage on Rays Fan Fest 2016; Baseball Forever campaign kickoff
  • Steve Zierfen on Rays Fan Fest 2016; Baseball Forever campaign kickoff
  • belowaverage on Rays Announce 2016 Spring Training Schedule
  • Nancy U. on Rays Announce 2016 Spring Training Schedule
  • Berdj J. Rassam on On Cabrera, Boxberger, Nava, Smyly and More

Categories

  • Caption Contests
  • Hot-Stove
  • Lineups
  • Looking Backward While Moving Forward
  • Polls
  • Rays Roster Moves
  • The New What Next
  • This Week in Rays Baseball
  • Two Minute Hate
  • Uncategorized

Tags

AL east Alex Cobb AL Wildcard Race Baltimore Orioles Baseball Ben Zobrist Blake Snell Boston Red Sox Chris Archer David Price Drew Smyly Erasmo Ramirez Evan Longoria Fernando Rodney Grapefruit League Hot-Stove Interleague Play Jake Odorizzi Jeremy Hellickson Joe Maddon Kevin Cash Luke Scott Matt Andriese Matt Moore MLB New York Yankees New York Yankees Suck Rays Rays 2016 Spring Training Rays Roster Moves Rays Stadium Saga Rays vs Blue Jays series preview Roberto Hernandez spring training stadium saga Starting Lineup Tampa Bay Tampa Bay Rays the trop Toronto Blue Jays tropicana field Wildcard race Wil Myers Yankees Yankees Suck

Copyright 2014 X-Rays Spex