The Tampa Bay Rays hosted their annual Fan Fest on Saturday, giving players and team staff the opportunity to mix with the fans at the crowded Tropicana Field.
If you have followed this blog for any substantial amount of time, you already knew that any number of X-Rays Spex staffers would be on hand Saturday. What follows are a few things we documented here and there, among others.
During a Q&A session between Rays manager Kevin Cash, Rays VP of Baseball Operations James Click, and Rays TV broadcaster DeWayne Staats, the topic of the Logan Forsythe/Jośe de Leon trade came up. Click, tasked with answering the question, noted the difficulty of trading the team favorite in a move that we fans have become all too familiar with.
Cash also handled the topic of player buy-in during the Q&A session.
It has become an annual tradition for Rays Principal Owner Stu Sternberg to host a State-of-the-Rays conversation with the local media during Fan Fest, and he did so again yesterday.
During an on-air interview with 620 WDAE, Sternberg said the Rays will whittle down a list of a half-dozen potential sites down to a “pin-perfect” choice before then end of the 2017 season. It remains a hope of his not to pit Pinellas County versus Hillsborough County.
Sternberg later told Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times) he has been watching a state bill that would kill public stadium funding, as well as Bill Edwards and the Rowdies’ pitch to expand Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg to accommodate a bid for an MLS expansion team:
We, I believe, firmly put our best foot forward every day and our intentions are as pure as possible to get something done. However, if because the soccer team is here helps or doesn’t, if someone in Tallahassee helps or doesn’t, or interest rates change, those are things completely out of my control.
Among other revelations, Sternberg attempted to quell the concerns of others, saying he has “no thoughts of selling,” the ball club, although he gets regular inquiries about investing in, buying or relocating the Rays.
I have not engaged in any of it…That’s a no.
Noteworthiness
— In a piece titled Another Way Kevin Kiermaier is Underrated, Jeff Sullivan (FanGraphs) found that both Kiermaier and Logan Forsythe are tied for the toughest pitchers faced in Major League Baseball last season — lending credence to the idea that the Outlaw is due a breakout season at the plate.
— Despite the deals with Logan Morrison and Rickie Weeks, Tampa Bay still intends to remain involved on Chris Carter, Matt Wieters and now Byung Ho Park, who was just designated for assignment by the Twins. Others still under consideration are Mike Napoli and Franklin Gutierrez (who would spend time in the outfield).