Happy Valentines Day From Your Friends at X-Rays Spex, Reid Brignac Acquired By Rockies (Updated)

(Courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays)
(Courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays)

We here at X-Rays Spex wanted to wish every one of you a very happy Valentines Day! See, we’re not the heartless Yankee and Red Sox hating bastards that some would make us out to be.

Update: According to MLB Trade Rumors, the Colorado Rockies have acquired the recently DFA’d Reid Brignac. The Rockies will send cash considerations and a player to be named later to Tampa Bay in trade for Brignac. 

Brignac is not yet arbitration eligible, posting an abysmal .227 BA/.268 OBP/.317 SLG/.585 OPS batting line in parts of five MLB seasons with the Rays.

Of Spring Training and Other Random Bits of Ephemera (Part Two)

Joe Maddon meeting with the pitching staff at Port Charlotte. (Courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays)
Rays manager Joe Maddon meeting with the pitching staff in Port Charlotte. (Courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays)

Thanks for being patient, dear readers. Here’s part two of the piece we started yesterday.

The Infield

As we noted before (http://tampabayrays.co/?p=5410), the addition of Kelly Johnson tends to stabilize things a bit, giving Joe Maddon more flexibility with his lineup by allowing Ben Zobrist the opportunity to play in right-field regularly. I’d expect Kelly Johnson and Ryan Roberts to platoon second base, Yunel Escobar to be the primary short-stop, and Sean Rodriguez to be the utility infielder. It will be interesting to see how Maddon will utilize Luke Scott.

Scott noted that he’s able to throw between 250-270 feet, and it would be reasonable to assume that he might spend some time in the outfield, perhaps in left. There’s also the thought that he could see some time at first base, along with James Loney. The Rays did not get the right handed power hitting 1B/OF that they were seeking, which leads me to believe that Loney will be the primary first-baseman. However if Loney’s splits (.257 BA/.305 OBP/.357 SLG/.662 OPS vs RHP, .217 BA/.247 OBP/.261 SLG/.508 OPS vs LHP) are indicative of anything, it’s that his struggles against left handed pitching may find him platooning first base with someone already in the Rays organization. We are well aware of Scott’s lack of success against LHP in 2012. I can’t imagine that Maddon would regularly platoon Loney with another player that has worse splits against LHP. This leads me to believe that one of the Spring Training invites (Leslie Anderson?) may get a spot on the 2013 roster. I’d also be interested in seeing if Maddon may try to use Sean Rodriguez at first base from time to time.

The Outfield

The Kelly Johnson acquisition not only shored up the infield, but it gave us a clearer picture of what the outfield may look like in 2013. It’s been widely speculated that Ben Zobrist will hold down the fort in right-field, while Desmond Jennings makes the transition to center-field, and Matt Joyce platoons in right-field with Sam Fuld and Brandon Guyer. The right-field and left-field positions will be in flux depending on a couple of variables; who may be the mound and whether BenZo will get playing time in the middle infield. Whatever the case, BenZo will more than likely be an everyday player regardless of where.

A couple of other questions have crept up; where will Wil Myers start the season, and at what position?

It’s been assumed that the highly touted prospect will start the year in Triple-A. Myers has a few kinks to work out at the plate, and a few months in Durham could suit him well. It has been speculated that Myers will be called up either just before the All-Star Break, or just after. Back in December Joe Maddon was quoted as saying,

I’ve always felt that it should be easier for a young player to make the team season in progress as opposed to out of spring training,” and “When they make the team out of spring training expectations get raised even higher, and I think if you’re really looking for a young man to apply pressure to himself it’s then, when he makes it out of camp and Opening Day comes and all the stuff is being written and it’s tough.

In an MLB.com piece Myers was quoted as saying that he,

Would get some more time to work on his center-field defense — his favorite position, though he’d be fine playing a corner spot if asked — and take some more Minor League at-bats, all part of the development process the Rays believe in so strongly.

If Myers is to spend the second half of the season in center-field, I’d imagine that Desmond Jennings would transition back to left-field, and something would have to be worked out in right. But too much OF depth is a much better problem to deal with than not enough. And that’s something that we, presumably, wouldn’t need to worry about for another four-to-five months.

Noteworthiness

The CBA limited every team to a $2.9 million bonus pool for the 2012-13 international signing period that began on July 2. The strongest penalty in the CBA is that any team that exceeds its international bonus pool by 15 percent or more will pay a 100 percent tax on the overage and won’t be able to sign a player for more than $250,000 during the 2013-14 signing period. Since July 2, the Rays already have spent more than $3.7 million (not counting players signed for $50,000 or less, since there are exemptions for those players), which is 28 percent beyond their international pool,

And

As a result, the Rays won’t be able to sign anyone next year for more than $250,000 and probably won’t make any major international splashes until July 2 either because of the tax.

  • Tampa Bay Times Staff writers Stephen Nohlgren and Mark Puente wrote an interesting piece titled “Who’s at the Trop?” which made the front page of Sunday’s paper. The article was based on an unscientific study which mentions the names of the major movers and shakers (both companies and notable individuals) in the bay area who may or may not have season ticket packages. I’ve got to commend them for calling attention to the matter of the lack of corporate support of the Rays. I must say though, their lack of tenacity in trying to figure out why the Rays may or may not be pandering to many of the local companies and corporations was a tad narrow sighted. After all, it is the Rays responsibility to seek corporate sponsorship, not the companies themselves.

Of Spring Training and Other Random Bits of Ephemera (Part One)

Courtesy of the Durham Bulls
Courtesy of the Durham Bulls

Can you feel that extra spring in the collective steps of every MLB baseball fan? Yes friends, baseball is back and we couldn’t be happier! The Rays pitchers and catchers have found their way down to Port Charlotte, while the position players aren’t far behind.

The Rays had another active off-season, and we’ll discuss that below. Tampa Bay also has some interesting moves to make before the opening day roster is set in stone, and we’ll discuss those moves as well. If you’ve followed X-Rays Spex during the off-season, much of this may be old hat. Whatever the case, consider this to be a Spring Training primer of sorts. Today we’ll talk about pitching and catching. We’ll follow that with a discussion on the state of the outfield, among other things.

The Rays made some moves this off-season, some more surprising than others. As expected, the Rays traded James Shields, Wade Davis, and Elliot Johnson to the Kansas City Royals for Wil Myers, Jake Odorizzi, and three others. Tampa Bay also traded Burk Badenhop to the Milwaukee Brewers for Raul Mondesi Jr., a minor leaguer who frankly hasn’t shown much promise. We had an opportunity to say our final goodbye’s to Carlos Pena who was picked up by the Astros, while we almost got the chance to do the same with Luke Scott. The Rays inevitably opted to re-sign him for $2.5MM less than he would have made had the option in his contract been picked up. You can’t win them all I suppose. Not surprisingly, BJ Upton made bank in Atlanta, and the Rays chose not to re-sign Jeff Keppinger who now finds himself on the south side of Chicago.

They also Rays re-signed Joel Peralta and Kyle Farnsworth, two integral pieces of the bullpen, and picked up Fernando Rodney’s contract option. Finally, Tampa Bay acquired three players (James Loney, Yunel Escobar, and Kelly Johnson) who look to add a heaping dose of defensive prowess to and already excellent infield. With the exception of the Scott and Badenhop moves, the Rays made some pretty impressive strides to bolster their lineup.

Though Tampa Bay is seemingly stronger, there are still a few lingering questions that will, ideally, be answered by the time Joe Maddon fills out the 25-man opening day roster.

Pitching

One lingering question is what the starting rotation will look like in 2013? Additionally, what will the bullpen look like as well? The Rays have a rather large hole to fill following the James Shields trade. Shields not only mowed down opposing batters, but he ate up a lot of innings, averaging 6.9 innings per start in 2012. Tampa Bay had two pitchers with at least 200 innings and strikeouts nestled nicely beneath their belts; David Price and James Shields. Price, who averaged 6.8 innings per start in 2012, noted that the rest of the rotation (himself included) are going to have to step up and fill the void left in Shields’ wake. In 2012, Alex Cobb averaged 5.9 innings per start. To that end, both Matt Moore and Jeremy Hellickson averaged 5.7 innings per start. Whoever fills that spot in the rotation, be it Alex Cobb, Jeff Niemann, Chris Archer, or Roberto Hernandez, will need to be a workhorse.

Personally, I like the idea of Alex Cobb getting a spot in the rotation. I’d also like to see Jeff Niemann, again, battle it out for a starting spot. Alex Cobb had a few rough outings last season, however, he also had many stellar moments. Furthermore, his 58.8% ground-ball percentage combined with a 68.5% left on base percentage support the idea that Cobb is a a contender to fill one of the holes in the starting rotation. What’s more, stats guru Bill James has projected that Cobb could increase the number of strikeouts to 8.09 K/9, while also decreasing his HR/9 to 0.70, his ERA to 3.73 , and his FIP to 3.29. In my mind, Jeff Niemann may be better suited for the bullpen. He has been an injury risk the last three seasons, and limiting his time on the mound could bode well for the tall righty. When you consider the other pitchers vying for a spot in the rotation, pitchers that are willing and able to do an effective job, it becomes evident that there may be someone better suited to work the first six or seven innings every five days. Frankly, I think it’s high time that Chris Archer gets a chance to prove himself. With Davis out of the way, Odorizzi presumably starting the year in Triple-A, and Hernandez filling Badenhop’s role as the ground-ball specialist, I think it’s reasonable to assume that Archer could very well steal away Niemann’s coveted spot.

As for the bullpen, the folks over at the Process Report project that the pen could look something like this:  Jake McGee, Brandon Gomes, Jamey Wright, Joel Peralta, Cesar Ramos, Fernando Rodney, Kyle Farnsworth, Dane De La Rosa, and Josh Lueke. I agree with the first seven names on the list, though I think you could easily replace De La Rosa and Lueke, with Niemann and Hernandez, at least to start the season. According to the Process Report,

(He’s) expected to compete for a role in the 2013 bullpen. He struck out more batters than innings pitched in Triple-A, but also permitted 102 baserunners in just 68 innings of work in what was his third straight season pitching at the level. Works with a fastball, splitter, and breaking ball. Changed spots on the rubber in-season. In a perfect world, he assumes Farnsworth’s 2013 role next season but there’s work to be done here first.

That’s all the validation that I need. Moving on.

Catchers

The Rays have a plethora of catchers to choose from going into Spring Training; Robinson Chirinos, Chris Gimenez, Jose Lobaton, Jose Molina, Stephen Vogt, and non roster invites Craig Albernaz, Mark Thomas. Jose Molina undoubtedly has the primary catcher position on lock, which leaves one or two spots open on the opening day roster. There is a three way competition between Chris Gimenez, Robinson Chirinos, and Jose Lobaton in my opinion.

The Rays could have/should have targeted a catcher in the off-season. And as much as it pains me to say it, AJ Pierzynski could have been a viable option on the free agent market. But whatever the case, the Rays have the seven players above to choose from.

Jose Lobaton is on the hot seat. He’s been in the bigs for the better part of the last two seasons, and as the Rays Rant noted,

Lobaton is in that (back-up catcher) position right now, and he’s not the kind of guy the Rays would [or at least should] like playing 65+ games for them. Lobaton posted a .222/.323/.317 line last year with very little power while throwing out just 16% of would-be base-stealers.

Robinson Chirinos seemed to be the obvious choice for back-up catcher last season, but a concussion incurred at the end of Spring Training left him on the DL for all of 2012. From an offensive point of view, Chirinos really isn’t very different than Lobaton, and I think Gimenez might be the winner leaving Spring Training, with Lobaton and Chirinos battling it out for the other assumed open spot behind the plate.

Hot-Stove: Of De La Rosa, ElJo, and Brignac (Updated)

Update: According to sources, IF/OF Elliot Johnson has been acquired from the Rays as the player to be named in the December 9 Tampa Bay/Kansas City trade. There is still no word on the state of INF Reid Brignac.

As per Topkin: Rays RHP Dane De La Rosa clears waivers, out-righted to Triple-A Durham. Will attend major-league camp. Action is still pending on Elliot Johnson and Reid Brignac, both of which were also DFA’d by Tampa Bay last week.

More on this and a Spring Training preview of sorts to come shortly.

X-Rays Spex Fan Fest Meet-up

Dear friends, I’m just throwing this out there, it’d be outstanding to do something fun next Saturday, at Fan Fest. We’re tinkering with a few ideas of our own at the moment. Perhaps a group meet-up at the Trop is in order. Maybe we could take an X-Rays Spex group photo as well. This is where you come in. We’re open to any and all suggestions. Thoughts? We’re all ears!