Another BJ Upton trade rumor
Even Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post knows BJ Upton is on his way somewhere. This is where I though BJ would end up with Ian Desmond (who is from Sarasota) coming to Tampa with a prospect or two.
I wonder if Jennings gets another shot?
So…..I wonder if Tampa Bay Rays #1 prospect, outfielder Desmond Jennings was ready to play in the Majors?? By the way it looked on Saturday night in Kansas City…I would say Jennings was ready in April like 99.9% of the Rays fans thought he was.
In Desmond’s season debut, he went 2 for 3 with a double, a triple, a RBI and 2 walks in the Rays 5-4 loss in 10 innings to the Kansas City Royals. Oh yeah – he also stole a base. Hmmmm…now that I see that stat line – I think he needs to go back to AAA Durham for 2-3 more years…what do you think Rays fans?? As a Rays fan, all I can think of now is what might have been if this kid was sitting at the top of the lineup all year. Would Tampa be sitting 9.5 back of the AL East Division lead and 6.5 back of the wildcard leading New York Yankees?
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Rays Trade Idea of the Day!
If you read Rays Central on a daily basis, you know that from yesterday until the trade deadline – I will be throwing out a Trade Idea of the Day for the Tampa Bay Rays…whether it has been rumored or not, whether it’s players that are “untouchable” players or not – it doesn’t matter. But I will keep it realistic….so you will probably not see David Price or Evan Longoria’s name come up at this point. And I also will not be throwing out Jeff Niemann for Adrian Gonzalez and Jacoby Ellsbury ideas either.
First things First: Cut/trade/designate/option/just do something I don’t care what you call it, but quit pitching J.P. Howell…he has killed and is still killing this team!
Obviously, all of the smoke out there on the internet involves James Shields, BJ Upton, Johnny Damon & Kyle Farnsworth…so why go away from that?? Where’ there’s smoke – there’s fire – and something is going to go down – and I get the feeling it’s BIG! I really can’t come up with a trade that anyone could care about….what are the Rays really going to get in return for a 37 year old DH that is a liablity in the outfield and his best hit is a backspin blooper that drops in for a hit 25% of the time.
Yesterday, I came up with my own James Shields trade that involved the St. Louis Cardinals…today, I am going to walk through the smoke. There are reports that the Rays have been hanging around (ok, scouting) the Cincinnati Reds minor league games on a daily basis. Look, it stinks, this game is a business. But your job as a GM is to sell when the stock of a certain player is at its highest point – and right now, that is exactly where Shields is at. Let me give you an example…can you imagine what the Rays could have got in return for BJ Upton after the 2008 playoffs? What will the Rays get for him now? Exactly! Back to Shields – he is not even 1 year removed from a 13-15 season with a 5.18 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP – yeah that’s how bad his numbers were in 2010. Now Big Game James is an ace in the AL EAST and if he would go to the NL Central and do what he is doing now, because of Adam Wainwright’s Tommy John surgery back in March, becomes the best pitcher in the NL Central and may rival any pitcher in the National League, yes including Roy Halladay.
Here is the Proposal I am making and that the Rays should be making as well:
The Rays send
James Shields
The Reds send
1B Yonder Alonso – the guy has been ready for a year now, but is blocked by some guy named Joey Votto (I guess this Joey guy won the MVP last year)
C Devin Mesoraco - Dear GM Andrew Friedman – DO NOT SETTLE FOR Yasmani Grandal for a couple reasons. #1. Reds GM Walt Jocketty does not care/worry about top prospects, trust me, I grew up a Cardinals fan and during his long tenure with the team…I don’t know if St. Louis brought along 1 prospect to make an impact in the Major Leagues during his time as GM outside of Albert Pujols. Jim Edmonds, Edgar Renteria, Scott Rolen, Adam Wainwright – all brought from trades. So Walt will pay to get his guy…and Shields will give the Reds an ace alongside Johnny Cueto. #2. Mesoraco will hit for power and I mean BIG TIME power and you hit him 4th behind Longo and Alonso 5th – now you got a little somethin somethin going with Ben Zobrist hitting in the 2 hole and Desmond Jennings hitting at the top of the lineup starting in 2012.
RHP Kyle Lotzkar – Throws low to mid 90′s gas and has a curveball he is comfortable throwing at 2 different speeds. Injuries are a concern (multiple elbow surgeries), but is worth the gamble.
This deal I honestly believe has a shot to go down. Tampa’s lineup immediately improves significantly and Matt Moore steps right in to the 6 man rotation that Joe Maddon should implement here within the next couple weeks. Price, Jeremy Hellickson, Wade Davis, Niemann, Alex Cobb & Matt Moore. This way you still keep the innings down on all these prized young arms. Andrew and Joe…I know you are reading this – you guys are daily readers of Rays Central (please tell me readers, you can read the sarcasm between each letter I am typing here), just do this trade…it cannot come back to hurt you…both of these guys, Alonso & Mesoraco will hit and James is sent to the NL which is as good as it can get in this situation.
Desmond Jennings FINALLY gets the call!!
Tampa Bay Rays fans – per Adam Sobsey, the Durham Bulls beat writer, Desmond Jennings is on his way to Kansas City to be in the lineup for Saturday’s game against the Royals! Do I really need to say more??
There are rumors flying that BJ Upton may have been traded after the game….STAY TUNED on that story! Nothing official…it was just speculation, but BJ was pulled in the 7th inning of the game tonight! The most smoke had BJ heading to the Philadelphia Phillies for 3 pitching prospects…I will say it again….NOTHING is OFFICIAL!! Anyone else hearing anything out there…if so…let us know i nthe comment section!
Let us know what you think of these moves in the comment section of this post!
Follow me on Twitter @Stelzy! Also, ‘Like’ RaysCentral.com on Facebook and please send any questions or comments you might have via Twitter or FB – I will respond to all!
What do you think of this trade idea Rays fans?
Reports are out saying the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cincinnati Reds have been talking trade for a couple weeks now about sending James Shields to Cincy for a couple high ceiling minor leaguers.
But I have an idea for the Rays to still get an impact bat who is already Major League proven and you can read the details on the deal by clicking on this link.
Basically James Shields heads to the St. Louis Cardinals for 2 players already in the Majors and 2 minor league pitchers.
