It is always interesting to break-down the trading process and to try to figure out different teams approaches etc.  One trend that I see wtih us and maybe this is also a league wide approach is the trade to fix multiple needs instead of just one at a time.  The multiple need approach is more complicated perhaps but if you match up well with another team less can go wrong. ie. if you are making a series of moves with multiple teams and half way through a team breaks-off on a key player you needed to make further moves then you may be stuck without anywhere else to go.

Last year we made a multiple need trade with the Twins that worked out really well and we have done this with the Dodgers in the past as well. Some reasons for this approach may be the fact that many trades involve multiple players anyway, many trades are expanded because one team or the other needs to get a fair balance which seldom happens when dealing just one player and it is very hard to find in the recent market the most complicated 3 and 4 team deals. Many teams are holding out for a coveted free agent or waiting to see where others go which complicates multiple team deals. With all of that being said who do we match up best with this year? Might we seek one main team to fit our multiple needs wtih us meeting theirs' as well? Here are my thoughts:

We probaly match up best with the Brewers, Cards, Indians, Rangers and Royals. All of these teams need pitching and they in turn have RF/DH types.

I would say that we can help a team get a starter (E. Jackson or equivalent) get a middle infielder (Brignac) and a starter/reliever (Talbot or equal).  We need a RF (prefer everyday type) a RH bat (can be a DH only) and a LH reliever or good late inning reliever. Let's look at each team;

Brewers: C. Hart could be the main part of a deal and we have dealt with them before

Cards: Ankiel or Ludwick could be the main part

Indians: a Gutierrez, Garko, R. Perez for Jackson, Talbot and Niemann might work

Rangers: Murphy and Byrd could be a good place to start

Royals: Right now I think we match up best with them, why not a Teahen, Butler and Mahon for Jackson, Brignac and Talbot deal

What do you think?

Recently there has been alot of talk about the potential roster for next year and it has centered on RF and the outfield in general with the DH position in the mix because our outfield guys usually fill that duty as well. Here are some observations that might affect what we do and any feedback from everyone would be appreciated. Let's do everything we can not to remember last night and hope we can get it in gear soon and keep our momentem going into the playoff's.

Fernando Perez has really impressed me alot and I can see him being used as our starting RF next year for several reasons.  He is great defensively, he would give our outfield a no holes look when combined with CC and BJ, His speed would help our offense with infield hits and stolen bases, He hits from both sides of the plate and seems to have some decent power.  What if he starts in RF and leads off in the batting order with Aki moving down in the lower order to help turn the lineup over? He can actually bunt, has a pretty good awareness of the strike zone and might put up the OBP that would be ideal in the lead off spot. His defense is good, and even though his arm may not be ideal for RF it's not bad either. We could keep Gabe Gross as the 4th outfielder and he could back up all spots, come in late in games with his power arm to hold baserunners from advancing and could even be used in a mini platoon against tough RH pitchers that Perez might have more trouble with.

My rec: Our outfield of Crawford, Upton and Perez  with Gross as our 4th guy. That would also affect our DH and my rec: use Dan Johnson and Willy Aybar there, Dan against most RH and Willy against all LH and as a match up guy against some RH.

Last night our TV crew mentioned that Ruggiano was batting with a new more upright stance at the urging of Hendu and Maddon and he looked better with the new stance. It is supposed to give him more balance, more power and free up his swing.  He could be in the outfield mix if this new stance helps him become more consistent at the plate. Before this recent change my opinion of him was that he wasn't going to be a big club prospect but only a AAAA type guy.  He started with this new approach in the last NYY game so in a very limited sample size it seems to be working.

I'm a huge Rocco fan but recently it seems that the toll of continual Practice and prep for games has really taken alot out of Rocco.  I hope that I am wrong but if this is the best it gets with Rocco (plays well for a few games and then just can't sustain the normal level of constant activity and energy) then he may have to retire unless treatment breakthroughs are found for him.

I know that Floyd wants to come back with us next year, but unless we don't keep up Zobrist next year as a utility guy, do we have any room for him, since he really can't play anywhere in the field. At least Dan Johnson can play 1B and some 3B and some LF if needed and we know that Aybar can play all over the infield and do it well.

Guys to go: Gomes, Hinske, Rocco (retired?) Floyd (retired?) Ruggiano (Durham?)

Our 13 position players: Pena (1B), Aki (2B), Bartlett (SS), Longoria (3B), Navarro (C), Crawford (LF), Upton (CF), Perez (RF), Dan Johnson (DH), Gross (4th OF), Aybar (IF reserve, DH platoon), Zobrist (super utility), and Riggans/Jaso (reserve C) This roster has alot of flexibility and a good mixture of offense and defense, with most guys able to play in the field at multiple positions. If Zobrist is not our super UT then there is room for either Floyd or Rocco but we then lose alot of flexibility and what do we do with a Dan Johnson (if Floyd stays) or Aybar (if Rocco stays)? If Ruggiano hits alot better, what about Fernando and the dynamite he brings to the table?

Feedback? 

I know its early, but if we don't make any deals before the trade deadline what will our expanded roster look like on 9/1.

Can we get buy until Sept. with what we have now?

Can the expanded roster make us that much better and help us with the final push?

The answer to the 1st question is probaly not unless our core players get hot with the bats or if the Sox and Yanks fade (not likely). We know what we need to get in the trade possibilities but is it worth it?  We can all stay tuned for that.

The answer to the 2nd question is yes! Why? because the guys we can bring up can fill in the cracks pretty well. Here are my thoughts:

Pitching: Bring up Niemann, Price, Salas and Talbot and slot them into the Pen at the very least and maybe Price as a spot starter. 4 sound like alot but all might bring us something unique that would make time sharing worth the headache. Usually pitchers have an advantage when batters have not seen them before with Niemann, Price and Talbot having an advantage and Salas is just plain good. Plus in tight games which is our MO a pitcher to face just one batter is a skill that Maddon as our skipper could scheme up pretty good I think. Davis even though he is not on the 40 man could also be a choice.

Fielders: Bring up Jaso as the third catcher or even DeFelice (not on the 40). Bring up Brignac for infield depth and maybe E. Johnson as well (I saw an interesting idea that Brignac could slot in at RF in the future, maybe even next year if he is still around). Bring up Baldelli if healthy and certainly Perez for speed/pinch runner and Ruggiano for outfield depth. Dan Johnson could be a choice but he also is not on the 40. This total would be as many as 10 extra guys that with their specialties could make us pretty complete.

 Sometimes because of a teams lack of flexibility which I think fits our current team, quite a few guys as role players can complete the whole maybe better than less numbers but guys that have to play all the time and get run down at years end.  The main question is can we wait for Sept. 1 and hope to sustain our position until then? or do we overpay for a trade now?, or do we go for a cheap stop gap to try to hit lightning in the bottle?  Another factor is this: do we wait until 9/1 because the RFO really thinks next year is more likely than our chances this year for making even a bigger run? Ideas? Thoughts?

It seems like alot of us Rays fans are frustrated by the inactivity in the market so far. I'm sure Andrew and Co. are probaly even more so.  The skyrocket prices are to blame and I think it is way easier to sell than to buy nowadays, so with that being said, who can we get that can help us now and maybe for another couple of years until our young guys can come up (mainly Desmond Jennings etc.).  Blake is one type of guy that we have discussed quite a bit but the more I look at him and the feedback from those who have followed him for awhile, the less impressed I get. So after alot of digging I have thought alot about a guy that was mentioned a ways back but is not really currently on the radar.  The more I think about what he could do the more I like him as our practical trade idea. The name: Austin Kearns of the Nats.  He hits for power, gets hot like Aubrey Huff sometimes at the end of the year, plays good defense, can either play the field or DH, gets along with teamates and would be fairly easy to acquire and pretty inexpensive.  He is signed thru next year (2009) for about 8 mil in 09 and has an option for 2010 if desired.  He could take either Gomes or Floyd's place (I keep thinking Cliff is going to pull something soon anyway)  He probaly would platoon something like Gross/ Kearns in RF with HInske/ Gomes at DH.  When he gets really hot he hits RH starters great so he could stay in the line-up more often in RF over Gross even against Righties. This would keep Hinske and Gomes from having to play the field unless in a dire situation and would balance the bench from both sides.  Feedback?

Another bat that can hit lefties would be nice, here are a few more names:

Franklin Gutierrez  Indians - has what you would want if his bat develops, probaly not quite ready for us at this time

Josh Willingham  Marlins - just coming back from injury and could fit in good for us but we have never done well in dealing with the Marlins FO

Nelson Cruz  Rangers - is he putting it all together now or is he just a AAAA type player that grabs your attention in the minors but struggles in the show?  He might be worth a try especially since he won't cost much.

Now comes my favorite dark horse gamble of all time:

Jeff Francoeur  Braves - This year his hitting has been so weak that he was recently sent down to AA Mississippi to try to get his act back together (was only there for 3 days before recalled due to a 25 man injury and his clearer head)  Since he was demoted it seems like his love for the Home Team Braves has been tarnished to a certain degree and until this year it was virtually impossible to imagine that he would ever play in his prime anywhere but Atlanta.

Cons: He is maybe 15 pounds too heavy this year resulting in less outfield range, his hitting has been quite the struggle with a noted loss of power, his mental approach to the game has been talked about in that this is the first time ever that he has struggled at baseball but that has been mitigated some with the time in AA to get his focus and mental rest restored, he is revered in Atlanta and would the Braves even consider making him available even though they have alot of needs to get back in the race this year.

Pros: He is young and is a power hitter corner outfielder that when on is a young stud that can rake with the best of them, he is an above average corner outfielder on D and has one of the best arms in the NL, He is a model citizen, loved by his teamates, does more community service than anyone on the Braves and is loved by his hometown fans, since he is so young and has just faced his first bump in the road maybe he becomes even better as he works through this first challenge, his attitude so far has been good and reasonable (he voiced disapointment but did not make any personal attacks when sent down) considering his frustrating year. Could he be acquired because of his current situation?  who knows for sure but I think he would be worth the gamble.  The Braves have alot of outfield talent that is coming up and may want to move a fan favorite for pitching when the outrage would be tempered by his struggles this year.

None of the above may be possible or advisable but it looks like this years market is shaping up to be an expensive one so maybe a surprise is in store?

It looks as if Brayan Pena a Catcher/1B/DH recently of the Atlanta Braves has been designated for assignment.  Here is another great opportunity for the Rays to pick up a guy that would be the perfect backup catcher for us as well as being a great contact hitter that can consistently put the ball in play.  He is someone that I have been tracking for a long time but never thought would be available simply for a waiver claim!  Some scouts have even thought that if given the chance he could be a decent everyday type player.  We don't need a starter of course but Brayan could hold the fort down as our backup for years until we get or develop or draft a replacement.  He might even do better than to hold down the fort.  He in my opinion is better than Gimenez. I'm really hoping that Andrew makes the move to claim him and even though I like Shawn Riggans I don't think he is the long term answer even as only a backup guy.

They are getting nothing much out of their DH and 1B positions and I wonder if they might entertain a trade for Dan Johnson or one of our other DH/1B types that we have.  We could wait and see what we think of Dan Johnson and decide who if anyone we might want to dangle as trade bait.  We could even consider trading a starting pitcher since their pitching is also considered a pretty strong weakness.

My Trade:  Dan Johnson or Chris Mason for Nelson Cruz straight up!

We get our RF and they get either a 1B/DH type or a prospect starting pitcher

I think we will make a trade for someone by the middle of May

My top 3 RF trade targets: 1. Balentien 2. Cruz  3. Murton

Outfielders: LF Crawford, CF Upton, RF Hinske/Gomes platoon     Guys to go: Ruggiano (now) and Haynes (when Floyd comes off the DL) Floyd is the DH             in total we have 5 players for the outfield/DH postitions.

Infielders: 1B Pena, 2B Iwamura, SS Bartlett, 3B Longoria Utility Zobrist for middle and Aybar/Dan Johnson for Corners  Guys to go: E Johnson when Zobrist comes off the DL and eventually one of either Aybar or Dan Johnson when Aybar comes off the DL and that begs the question where has Aybar gone to? No word on the injury update, his rehab, a program with time/dates etc. is there more to his lack of info than him being overlooked? Funny how he has vanished from any mention at all!! If and when Aybar gets healthy then hopefully the Rays will have an idea of how valuable Dan Johnson might be and they can make the right call.  Total of 6 players for the 4 infield positions.

Catchers: Navarro and DiFelice   This is a tough call but when Navi comes off the DL I think that Riggans will go down to Durham. (not that he has failed to do what we expected but I think the veteran presence of DiFelice is needed now) Total of 2 players for 1 position.

Note: When I put Guys to go it can be optioned down if that applies

Future Lineups for LH pitcher: 2B Iwamura, LF Crawford, CF Upton, 1B Pena, 3B Longoria, RF Hinske, DH Dan Johnson, C Navarro, SS Bartlett

Future Lineups for RH pitcher: 2B Iwamura, LF Crawford, CF Upton, 1B Pena, 3B Longoria, DH D. Johnson/Hinske, RF Gomes, C Navarro, SS Bartlett

If they really want Edwin Jackson and covet him as much as they claim then trade us back in return Wladimir Balentien and call it a deal.  They get the SP that they want and we get a good young power hitting RF that we need.  Of the young guys that are out there we haven't heard his name mentioned but he would be good for our needs if the M's really want EJax.

Another speculation today on MLB Trade Rumors that the Rays are still interested in Matt Murton.  Their conclusion is that we are still interested in getting him for our RF situation but that the Cubs are asking for alot.  Maybe we can offer the Cubs this deal and even though we might feel it is a little steep I think the benefits of having an everyday RF with the rest of the guys in the DH platoon would be the best thing right now for our club. When I look at our lineups for both RH and LH opposing pitchers the Right Field spot is our only long term glaring weakness. Here's the prop:

We send the Cubs A. Sonnanstine and F. Perez for Matt Murton in return.

The thinking is that Andy will be only a future Middle reliever for us long term and even though he may be pretty good in that role, next year with Price, Davis McGee etc. we will have alot of starters going to the pen that have more "power stuff". Perez is blocked by BJ and has alot of seemingly better guys behind him at his position. If BJ gets hurt, that is the only short term risk that I see. On the upside, Murton can fill our RF position very well for quite a few years (2-3) until one of our younger guys is ready.  A guy who is an everyday player in the place we need one is to me worth the deal, it does seem like our "braintrust" is really interested in getting Matt.  The Cubs could use a good reliever and will need a fast CF type for their short and long term OF.

Could we find another possible diamond in the ruff and take a waiver claim on Dan Johnson of the A's?  He could work as a DH against Right Handers and take the spot that Floyd was working in.  We would have enough time to see how he does while Cliff gets healed up. Don't really have to gamble much if we can get him on waivers.  Our platoon system could work like this: Gomes at DH and Ruggo at RF against lefties with Dan Johnson at DH and Hinske at RF against Righties. I have to admit that Haynes has looked pretty bad at the plate, he could be waived to make room with Ruggo getting to play the bare minimum in CF if BJ needs a rest. Ruggo would be the spot starter at all 3 outfield positions until Zobrist gets back up and then several guys could take turns. I think Ruggo is acceptable in CF for the few times we will need someone. What do we think?

If the season started tomorro here is the 25 man roster I would want:
LF Crawford  
CF Upton
RF Gomes / Hinske platoon
DH Floyd (Gomes against Lefties)
Note: If we trade or acquire another OF I still think Nathan Haynes would be my choice!
1B Pena
2B Iwamura
SS Bartlett
3B Longoria
Middle Infielder bench E. Johnson (Zobrist when well)
Corner Infielder Aybar
C Navarro
Backup C H. Gimenez
SP Shields, Kazmir, Garza, Sonny, Jackson
BP Percival, Reyes, Wheeler, Glover, Miller, Balfour + JP Howell
Comments:
I assume that E. Johnson and/or Zobrist will have to back up CF when BJ needs a day off (Rays have been giving both looks there)
Hinske has been looking so good I really think he
deserves a spot and would be a great platoon guy.
Longoria has to start in the bigs even though I would rather have the extra year of service time.
Hector Gimenez has looked so good as well that I would put him on instead of Defelice.
Hammel is still my main starter to trade.
I like Balfour over Dohmann for the pen.

I like both Weber and J Rod but a younger guy that has more upside and can play all outfield positions would be better until Desmond is ready.The team with the obvious choices are the Angels. Some of y'all have already mentioned Rivera but I would rather have either Willits or Nathan Haynes with Willits being my top choice.
He can play all 3 outfield pos. is fast has a good OBP and average and plays great defense and can run. He has it all and he is blocked (5-6 guys ahead of him). He is a switch hitter with a good eye and is still young (27 I think). We would have to send the Angels some pitchers to get him but we have some guys to send (Mason, Hammel, E Jax, Ryu,Howell etc.) Some combo should get a deal done and the Angles have to do something soon themselves. Go for it Andrew!!

Just my thoughts but of the 3 remaining needs going into spring it seems to me that the easiest one to fill would be a backup catcher. I think we could land a good young guy in a trade without having to give up the whole farm and would be better than getting someone such as M. Barrett who I don't like.
The FA crop is pretty poor and there are several teams that have young catchers that are blocked from getting up to their big team. Here are some choices:

1.Taylor Teagarden of the Rangers - He is blocked by Salty and Gerald Laird and could be had for a Chris Mason or one of our other young pitchers not named Price, McGee and Davis. I know that Catchers are a valuable commodity but young pitching is even more valuable and we have some guys we could trade to get someone that we want.

2. Bobby Wilson or Jeff Mathis of the Angels - Wilson is a local kid that is blocked by Napoli, Mathis and Budde, in fact the Angels have 4 Catchers on their 40 man roster which is alot. Surely we could get Wilson for one of our young pitchers.  Mathis would be more expensive but one of these Angel guys should be able to be traded for.
   
3. Montero or Wilken Castillo of the Dbacks - Castillo is blocked by Snyder, Montero and Hammock and could be had for a young pitcher. I have heard that Montero was made available in some of the trade scenerio's that the Dbacks had with other teams. He would be more of a proven youngster.
   

The bottom line is this: One of these targets we should trade for and use our pitching surplus to fill a current need and also snatch a young guy to battle it out with Navi in the future. Even if we wanted Riggans to hold the fort until a younger guy got some more seasoning thats okay. We still have a long amount of time before our next well rounded catcher of the future arrives if Ashley even turns out to be that. Let's trade surplus for surplus and nab a young guy before he hits stardom and becomes even more costly!!

I feel much better now that we have Cliff Floyd in the fold but are we basically done with player signings or trades?
Remember the Rays stated needs:

1. LH OF/DH - Cliff Floyd meets that
   
2. Super Utility (corner infield/corner outfield with power) - currently J. Guzman is our guy here
   
3. LHRP - currently Birkins is our guy here unless JP Howell gets a look
   
4. Backup Catcher - currently Riggans is our guy here

What should we do going forward?  Chatter has been very quiet but I do believe we will want to upgrade if possible. Here are some possible names to think about:
For the Super Utility how about A. Nunez or E. Hinske? For the LHRP how about M. Hendrickson or T. Miller or the before posted Traber?
For our Backup Catcher I really don't see any FA's out there that are an upgrade but maybe a trade would work for us?
Any thoughts?

If I could have 3 Wishes they would be:

1. Trade JP Howell to the Rangers for David Murphy who in my estimation is looking better and better as the type of Lefty Batter we need.
   
2. Trade E Jax and Chris Mason to the Mariners for Jeff Clement and get another lefty but one who can catch, DH and play some 1B.
   
3. Sign R. Mahay for our LOOGY.

If only dreams could always come true!!
It would be the Lefty Trifecta!!

1. I think the Rays will make it to .500 this year with the new additions and young guys on the way.
   
2. I predict that Rocco gives us 100+ games and plays well enough to make D. Young an afterthought.
   
3. I predict we trade J. Gomes for a young catcher maybe a Teagarden (rangers) or Powell (A's) etc.
   
4. At the Rule 5 Draft we will select a relief pitcher type who will also fortify the Pen (look for a Guevara, Aselton (lefty) or Stertzbach etc.)
   
5. Dukes gets it together emotionally and hits 30 HR's between RF + DH. duty.
   
6. E. Longoria starts the season on the big club and doesn't look back (we still have to add him to the 40 man, which will be a big clue in where he starts the year)
   
7. J Bartlett does so well at SS, that Brignac in a few years either lands at 2B or in the outfield.
   
8. J. Wilson beats out B. Zobrist for Utility.
   
9. We add a Left Handed Power bat for Outfield DH duty (please not G. Jenkins)
   
10. If we don't add another catcher somehow then H. Gimenez makes the team as a backup to Navi and becomes our diamond in the ruff for 2008.
    
11. Even though I think we should try JP Howell as our situational Lefty, Birkins ends up with the job unless we pick up a LHRP in the Rule 5 draft.
    
12. E. Jackson beats out J. Hammel for the 5th starter but Hammel does well in the Pen and stays there in the future. (Sonny has the 4th spot)
    
13. Niemann + Talbot eventually end up in the Pen as well.
    
14. We trade a Starting Pitcher at the trade deadline (either a 25 man guy or one of our prospects) for whatever our most pressing need or needs are and stay aggressive for the Present success of the team on the field. (might be to get a reliever to replace an aging injured one)
    
15. D. Jennings becomes a real star and gets to AAA.
    
16. Price, Davis and McGee all do well and next year we go to a six man rotation (they join Shields, Kaz and Garza)
    
17. C. Mason becomes my most likely young guy to be traded in light of our pitching surplus.
    
18. I still like M. Prochaska as a lefty specialist (does anyone else see the potential as well?)
    
19. soon to be 40 man subtractions: Glover, Ridgway, Ryu (especially) and Orvella (maybe a trade) and eventually S. Riggans.
    
20. In 4 years the Garza + friends trade is regarded as one of the more lopsided deals in recent years and is in our favor.

Greetings from South Carolina.  Don't tell anyone but have y'all noticed how well we have been playing of late and even on the road! Shhh!
don't let the cat out of the bag but it looks like we could play around .500 next year with our stable starting pitching, better bullpen and continued development from our mostly young starting fielders. You can see some growth especially from the better mental approach of some players and the team as a whole.
Should give kudos to Maddon and Hendu and to some extent the front office that is staying to plan and that also helps solidify the organization.
Random thoughts:
BJ Upton: good hitter, developing CF and good approach. The sky is the limit for him!
Delmon Young: looks like he is being more patient, the radio guys say he has Pena power and with better approach look for alot more round trippers - can't wait.
Carlos Pena: just flat out love this guy and his positive attitude -
Joel Guzman: Is it just me or is this guy living right - every game (although limited sample) this guy has something positive happen that is helping us get a win.
Brendan Harris: Just keep hitting in the clutch baby! Next year whether it is 2B or platoon SS or utility this guy is a valuable part.
Josh Wilson: Reading between the lines his range will let him start possibly at SS next year if he continues to hit okay and field well. Several published comments about real good range both to his left and right.
Aki Iwamura: Real good 1st year in the states (not a leadoff hitter though)picks well and will hit better next year I believe, another solid pickup by front office. (really they have done a very good job and should be the real deal)
Dioner Navarro: Hitting much better, solid on D,still real young. Here's to him coming in next year in much better shape and raking early and often.
Shields = Moxie, great job
Kazmir = Staff Ace (yes, I did have my doubts earlier this year)
Jackson: keep it up and you are the #3
Grant Balfour: He is doing great!! might be the best trade this year even though I also like the Wheeler deal. Instead of ball four howabout 4 K's every game?
Wheeler: Stable and clutch
Salas: showing this year he is clutch as well and has a big future.
Dohmann: Also better than advertized - keep him

Next year at some point we improve our lineup with Longoria at 3B and either Baldelli or Dukes as the DH/4th outfielder (we have time for both of these guys to sort out what we should do)

Niemann and Price at some point should join the rotation which will have a ripple affect on the bullpen (maybe we don't need a bullpen guy this off season after all) Starters at some point going to the Pen: Howell, Hammel, Sonny and maybe Talbot. Sonny and Talbot in particular could be outstanding Pen arms!!

We still have coming Davis, McGee and Mason!!

The Future really does look bright so I suggest that our slogan for 08 be: The Rays' are so bright we gotta wear shades!!

The Baltimore papers are reporting that the O's have signed Fernando Cabrera to a minor league deal with a Sept. call-up.  That begs the question as to why would could not manage the same deal with him. The article I read implies that Guthrie and Trembly have a relationship with the Cab but it is a minor league deal!. Why couldn't we offer a Major league deal and get this guy for our team? 1. Did we not value him? 2. If we can't get someone like the Cab, how promising is our hopes of attracting other guys to come play for the Rays? 3. With the Pen that we have wouldn't be wise to invest in a young guy with upside even if it costs a little coin?
4. We may never know what really happened in the waiver process but if we could have kept him from release waivers by trading a spare part to the Indians why didn't we do that? 5. I hope the Rays are not getting too tricky by trying to work the System instead of just going out there and getting the guys they need!
In other thoughts:

1. I'd be willing to take a shot at Schilling especially if he could help our young pitchers and help attract other players to our team
   
2. After studying the Free Agent Catchers that could hit the market, I'm even more convinced that we need to trade for a young catching prospect to compete with Navi
   
3. I really don't understand the reasoning behind the limited planned call-ups after the rosters can expand in Sept. Why have only Rocco come up for the outfield? Being able to evaluate Ruggiano and Pridie would make alot of sense.
   

A catcher possibly was mentioned but we don't have one in house that really fits unless we add Jaso and bring him up (I would bring him up and see how he does defensively in particular)To top it off Longoria has not been mentioned as a call-up either but why not? This is still a season of evaluation but it doesn't look as if we will take advantage of every possibility that we can.
I realize that MLB wants us to compete but we can still balance that with our main goal of evaluation.
Call up these guys please:
Baldelli, Ruggiano, Pridie, Longoria, Jaso, Bankston, Niemann, Talbot, Orvella and Ridgway.
Take off the 40 man:
Norton, Witasick, Camp, Zobrist and Johnson.

The Times Heater just ran a short blurb about Houser being scratched from his start tonight with an anouncement tomorro. Anyone have any ideas why he would be scratched? Also, what is the word on Fernando Cabrera? I haven't heard anything on him as well. If I remember correctly Houser just came back from a leave of some sort and maybe one of our minor league contact posters will be able to scope out the facts. As for Cabrera I remember reading that the decision would be made by sometine today but when I count five days from the wire anouncement he might have until Saturday to decide. I think it is important to add Cabrera even if we have to pay him more as an incentive.

I hope the NDRO is working on some waiver deals to still build up our Rays! Here are some that I would like to throw out there for thought.

1. Put Gomes on Waivers and try to work a trade with either the Angels for catcher Bobby Wilson or the Cubs for catcher Geovany Soto.
   
2. Put Reyes on Waivers and try to work a trade with the Mets (they desperately need bullpen help) So trade Reyes and Josh Paul to them for Phillip Humber.
   
3. Put Greg Norton on Release waivers (he might land some place like the Rockies).
   

So we take off of the 25 man and 40 man 4 guys:
Gomes, Reyes, Paul and Norton.
We add to our 25 man: Cabrera (takes Reyes place and is alot younger with harder stuff) Soto or Wilson (takes Paul's place and they are younger and can give Navi a reality check) Add Joel Guzman and Justin Ruggiano to take Gomes and Norton's place (both are younger and give us more time to see what they can do)
Humber goes to Durham and is called up in Sept.
This might be hard to do but I would for sure be trying to work on something similar to this to tweak our roster, not only for now but also down the road. Remember we can always pull back a guy that we can't work out a good deal on!

I want to go on record that I am not in favor of trading Carlos but with the trade market as it is would this possibility be a franchise turning point? Only if we could get all of our current needs met I say. Yesterday when I worried about the possiblity of Carlos being traded, my panic changed to reason to see if we could find a match that might help us get to our future goals.
I only came up with one but it could be a doosy.
Here goes nothing:
To the Angels we send Pena, Wiggy and Josh Paul
The Angels send us Kotchman,Moseley, Santana and Bobby Wilson.
Here is my thinking;
1. The Angels need power and it looks like they will probaly finish 2nd to the braves for Tex
Pena gives them power and protection for Vlad

2. Wiggy gives them the DH/3b utility option that they also need while also giving them some power pop as well
   
3. Paul gives them experience behind the plate and knows the team for the most part and lets them send Mathis back to AAA for hitting practice
   

These moves make the Angels I believe to be the odds on favorites to go to the World Series while the players they give up don't hurt them in the present too badly
For us:

1. Kotchman comes home and is our Starting 1B for along time and only hurts us a little with some loss of power (maybe very little in long run)
   
2. Moseley gives us a solid pen arm that could be a late inning guy and even a potential closer.
   
3. Santana gives us for his age an experience Starter that we have all been asking for and we could even try him as a closer
   
4. Bobby Wilson is a home town guy (Dunedin)who can compete with Navi and between the two one becomes the Starter and the other the back-up (whomever hits the best starts) This way our catching hole eventually works itself out (we could still pick up an experience guy if we want)
   

Problems I see are:

1. Stoneman doesn't usually make big deals
   
2. This is way out of the box
   
3. Ervin Santana may be a little too much from the halos perspective (however with Maddon knowing the halos minors so well we could get the guy he knows can help us the most! maybe a guy like Gwyn, or Rich Thompson or S. Shell or Nick Green etc. and if we like one of those options it could still be a good deal for us as well)
   

what I like about the deal from our point is that it can meet all of our needs at one time and could put the franchise on track for a long time. We lose possibly power and a great guy in Carlos Pena but the other two help the Angels in their current needs more today than our needs in the future. The Halos could win it all now with this deal and we could win it all down the road with this deal as well!
So don't trade Pena or maybe we take a risk and make a move that defines our team forever.
It's fun to play GM but not as easy to be one!

Here we are about a week from the deadline and the trading activity itself is dead. I have been pretty disapointed that we can't seem to make something happen. After monitoring the teams that we match up with the best it may very well be that the Indians give us the best chance of meeting our needs and also helping them have a chance to get to the playoffs (I don't mind them as compared to others we might deal with ie. Yanks) Here is another idea for Andrew Friedman:
We trade Reyes, Wiggy and Josh Paul to the Indians for Fernando Cabrera and Kelly Shoppach.

1. Al Reyes gives the Indians a needed reliever
   
2. Wiggy gives them a 3rd baseman and frees up Blake to go back to the outfield which lets them also trade one of their young left fielders for a
   

starting pitcher which they also need
3. Josh Paul gives them an adequate backup to take the place of Shoppach ( they also have Haad and Rose in AAA)
For us we get:

1. A Young 25 yr. old reliever that can become our closer if we are patient with him
   
2. A Young 27 yr. old catcher that is also experienced and would no doubt be our starter since he is great defensively and has alot of O as well
   

The Dodgers seem to be going after other bullpen options, the Braves are hard to deal with, the Twins don't want to give up any pitching at all and I don't like the Yankee guys hardly at all.
On another note I like the moves we made today:

1. Hammel over Howell is great (I don't think Howell will ever be a good starter)
   
2. Salas is the guy we should have brought up days ago
   

C'mon Andrew please make a deal!!

I'm new to the site but have been visiting it for quite some time and would like to participate on a regular basis. It seems to me that the Rays are pretty close to putting it all together with just a few good moves right at the trade deadline.  That coupled with the young guys still to come we can really look forward to 2009 and 10. With that in mind I have a few trade ideas that we can talk about. First here are the needs that I see we have in order of importance. 1. Relief Pitchers 2. Another young Catcher 3. A young Power 1st Baseman to compliment Pena (right handed preferred)4. Patience Here are the trade ideas:

1. Ty Wigginton to either - Twins for Boof Bonser or Glen Perkins       - Indians for Fernando Cabrera and Jensen Lewis - Yankees for Edwar Ramirez and Sean Henn  - Dodgers for Shin-hui Tsao and Jonathan Meloan
   
2. Al Reyes to either - Indians for Ryan Garko and Fernando Cabrera  - Braves for Joey Devine and Anthony Lerew - Rockies for Juan Morillo and Edwin Bellorin
   
3. Jon Gomes to either - Angels for Dustin Moseley and Bobby Wilson  - Braves for Joey Devine and Anthony Lerew  - Dbacks for T. Pena and Jailen Peguero
   
4. E. Dukes to either - Marlins for Mauro Zarate
   

 - Pirates for Steven Pearce or Yurendall de Caster  - White sox for Oneli Perez for Carlos Vasquez
5. An Optional Shocker: Scott Kazmir and JP Howell to either - Dodgers for Jonathan Broxton and Scott Elbert and Jonathan Meloan - Twins for Boof Bonser and Glen Perkins and Jose Morales
 - Yankees for Tyler Clippard and Joba Chamberlain and Sean Henn
My reasoning: 1. get a good pitcher for Wiggy
2. get 2 guys for Al before he gets really hurt and guys who are younger 3. Gomes will never be hotter than he is right now so we can trade high.
He is very streaky and in the future will be a DH guy at best. 4. If we cant get a decent return for Dukes then hope he gets his life in order for next year and keep him for now 5. Kaz would be a great addition for a contending team this year and even though it would hurt us now and next year we might be able to get a great return today ie. a young closer and replacement Lefty starter and a 3rd player (thinking Dodgers in particular)With Niemann, Price and W. Davis on the way not to mention Talbot it might be worth the gamble. Just some ideas
Go Rays!