Hot-Stove: BJ Upton to sign with the Braves, Jeff Keppinger rumors, and the Rays sign Mike Fontenot and re-sign Rich Thompson to minor league deals (updated)

FYI, this piece has been updated below. Thanks for everything BJ, you’ll be missed! Upton’s tenure with the Rays officially came to an end today, as news broke that he’s signed a 5-year, $75.25 MM contract with the Atlanta Braves. His windfall (of sorts) does not include any options for 2018 or beyond. With news …

Hot-Stove: Rays Extend A Qualifying Offer to BJ Upton and It’s Subsequently Turned Down, Reinstate Robinson Chirinos, and Rewrite the Record Books (Updated)

Update: As expected, BJ Upton has turned down the Rays $13.3 MM qualifying offer. According to MLB Trade Rumors, “With Upton turning down the one-year, $13.3 MM offer, the Rays will now receive a compensatory draft pick if Upton signs with another team as a free agent. It was no surprise that Upton declined the …

Of Contract Options, and Free Agents (Oh my, its been updated)

Post 10/29 updates: The Rays have chosen to exercise the options on Fernando Rodney ($2.5 MM), Jose Molina ($1.8 MM), and James Shields ($10.25 MM) contracts. However, they’ve chosen to decline Luke Scott’s $6 MM option, opting to pay him a $1 MM buyout instead. All of the moves were expected, at least tacitly. On …

The Rays Win Their Finale 4-1; the Thank You BJ Upton and Fernando Rodney Edition

I certainly wasn’t planning on feeling the way I did when BJ Upton came up to bat in the bottom of the eighth, in last night’s season finale. That’s the funny thing about emotions; you’re at the will of them unless you’re trained to suppress them. It would be reasonable to assume that this particular …

Put a fork in it…

The Rays/Orioles Series By the Numbers The Orioles held the Rays to 21 scoreless innings over the course of the series, following a pair of one run homers by BJ Upton and Desmond Jennings Friday night. Ugh. 0-12 wRISP, 18 LOB Pena (1-8, 3 BB, 2 K), Roberts (0-9, BB, 3 K), Lobaton (0-6, 2 …