13 Nov 2018 09:59:59
Could the Rays make these moves during the offseason? We saw them win 90 games in 2018 in a stacked AL East, and AL in general. Here's how they could be legitimate World Series contenders on a limited budget. If this would happen, they have to risk the next 5 and go all in next year:

Sign Brian Dozier - 1/7 (value has never been lower after a disastrous 2018, but still a great hitter)

Sign JA Happ - 2/17 (underrated and the type of move the Rays would make, has plenty of AL East experience)

Sign Jed Lowrie - 2/14 (also the type of move the Rays would pull)

Sign Drew Pomeranz - 1/6 (teams will overlook him, look for the Rays to swoop in and pick him up)

Re-sign Sergio Romo - 1/2

Send Jesus Sanchez, Shane McClanahan, and Lucius Fox to the Marlins for JT Realmuto

Send Brendan McKay and Shane Baz to the Mariners for Edwin Diaz

Send Christian Arroyo and Jose De Leon to the Cardinals for Marcell Ozuna


How would this roster do?

Lineup:
1. Dozier DH
2. Lowrie 3B
3. Realmuto C
4. Ozuna LF
5. Bauers 1B
6. Pham RF
7. Wendle 2B
8. Kiermaier CF
9. Adames SS

Rotation:
1. Snell
2. Happ
3. Pomeranz
4. Yarbrough
5. Glasnow

Bench:
1. Perez C
2. Choi 1B
3. Duffy 3B
4. Lowe 2B

Bullpen:
1. Romo RP
2. Stanek RP
3. Stanek RP
4. Kolarek SU
5. Alvarado SU
6. Roe SU
7. Diaz CL

If this happens, look out for the Rays to win at least 97 games. What are the chances it does happen?

QUESTIONS: SHOULD I KEEP DOING THESE? WHAT TEAMS SHOULD I DO THEM FOR? LET ME KNOW BELOW. ENJOY!

1.) 13 Nov 2018
13 Nov 2018 10:02:57
Error - I put Stanek twice. I meant to put Anthony Banda there.

2.) 13 Nov 2018
13 Nov 2018 13:37:56
Happ, Dozier, Pomeranz, and Lowrie will all sign for more money and some will sign longer term deals.

3.) 13 Nov 2018
13 Nov 2018 14:56:35
You seem to struggle with the fact that trades don't happen in a vacuum. If Diaz becomes available (every indication suggests he won't), just about every team is going to offer something for him.

Bauers and Baz isn't horrible, but it's not a top offer, and it would get so quickly outbid by someone else. Start considering the market and recognizing how trades work if you want to continue these.

Also, did you completely ignore the Mike Zunino deal?

4.) 13 Nov 2018
13 Nov 2018 15:22:30
Now that the Rays have added Zunino, here is their checklist for the offseason:

- Right handed impact bat: Rays have already been associated with Donaldson and Cruz, as well as trade candidates like Goldschmidt and Jose Martinez

- One traditional starter: They could be big players for someone like Carrasco or a FA like Morton or Cahill

- Back end bullpen arm: Plenty of big names on the FA market, personally I would like them to make a push for Nate Jones, as the White Sox are still rebuilding and the Rays have tons of prospects to offer.

Either way, the Rays not only have 30-40 million to spend this offseason but they also have the prospect capitol to make a big move.

5.) 13 Nov 2018
13 Nov 2018 16:27:48
Rays had 30-40M to spend last year. Instead, their owners stole it and they sold any player who made a couple bucks.

I don't think the owners have suddenly begun to care about putting a product on the field this winter.

6.) 13 Nov 2018
13 Nov 2018 17:13:52
ummmm. they came into 2018 with a record high payroll and won 90 games. I have no idea what you are talking about in reference to having "30-40M" to spend, that is not accurate at all.

Going into 2019, they only have 35 or so million committed to the roster and are not losing any key players to free agency. In fact, the Rays have even more top prospects on the way close to the major league level. If they set the same payroll restrictions as last season, they would have roughly 30-40 million to spend this offseason. The Rays window for contention is wide open.

I assume you are referencing the Longoria, Dickerson and Odorizzi trades? Let's be honest, Longoria had a horrible year (15% below league average offensively) and Matt Duffy outproduced him by a large margin. for league minimum. Longoria is still owed another 70 million over the next 4 years, the Rays were lucky to get rid of that contract.

Odorizzi had another mediocre year (7-10 4.49 ERA) and the Dickerson trade was about making room for Mallex Smith, who had a better season anyways. The Rays were trying to get younger and open up spots for their top prospects, not just to save money and be cheap.

7.) 13 Nov 2018
13 Nov 2018 18:29:58
They traded away almost every player under contract. Kiermaier is their only player with an actual "contract", and that's for only $8M.

Nearly 50% of their payroll in 2018 was moved off the roster. Longoria, Span, Colome, Hechavarria, Archer, Miller, Ramos, Eovaldi. If they make a couple bucks, they get moved. I wouldn't be surprised to see Kiermaier get moved this winter, either. Of the 68M in payroll they had, only half was still on the roster at the end of the season.

Tampa Bay is going to have a really hard time selling the idea of going there when the players and their agents know there's a good chance they are with a new club by July.

And for what it's worth, I can tell you matter of factly that the MLBPA is in the process of filing a grievance against Tampa Bay for not using their revenue sharing money to put players on the field. I think that'll be a huge blow to Tampa Bay, and in looking for new cities, it could be a critical blow if they lose revenue sharing dollars because the owners are greedy pigs.

8.) 13 Nov 2018
13 Nov 2018 22:19:51
I know that trades don't happen in a vacuum - these are hypothetical. I didn't actually know that the MLBPA are in a grievance with the Rays, I just thought they were sellers because they didn't think they would contend. As for the signings, I recognize how difficult it is to sell Tampa as an appealing landing spot, but it is something the Rays can't afford if their owners change their ways.

I think they may have started to care about putting a good product on the field though. Remember how they were legit contenders every year from 2008-13? I think the owners might recognize they can do the same with this bunch by adding a few key pieces.

9.) 13 Nov 2018
13 Nov 2018 22:21:24
Also I forgot about the Zunino deal, I don't know what happened there haha. They need a backup catcher anyway though. Who knows what could happen? I agree with you in saying that the Realmuto deal has a tiny chance of happening after acquiring Zunino.

10.) 15 Nov 2018
14 Nov 2018 23:32:37
This is so full of misinformation, I feel obligated to reply.

First off, you act like you NEED to spend money to be successful. Somehow, if you don't, there is no way you can be deemed successful, is this right?

Secondly, it's old news that the MLBPA filed a grievance against 4 MLB teams, including the Rays, nearly 8 MONTHS AGO. Since then, there has been data produced to back up the claims from these teams, that they were, in fact, spending the same percentage of revenue as all of the big market teams. Thanks for this "new" information? The Rays spent .1% less than the average MLB team, well within the acceptable margin.

https:/ / www. draysbay. com/ 2018/ 2/ 26/ 17054394/ tampa-bay-rays-payroll-salary-spending-dollar-dollar-bills-yall

https:/ / www. tampabay. com/ blogs/ rays/ 2018/ 02/ 27/ players-union-files-grievance-vs-rays-3-other-teams-over-revenue-sharing-spending/

Nowhere close to 50% of the 2018 payroll was moved off the roster. Yes, Longoria's dead contract was moved for Span's contract, which was only a difference of about 4.5 million dollars for 2018. So starting with the opening day payroll of 77 million, the Rays only subtracted 28% of their in-season payroll through trades during the season, not 50%.

Even so, the players they traded away were not worth the money they were being paid. Here are some (all of) the examples that your referenced:

- Longoria: due 70 million over the next 4 years, posted 0.4 WAR and 85 wRC+ in 2018
- Span: Rays saved 6 million dollars for 2018 and the option for 2019 was declined by Seattle for 4 million dollars
- Colome: Rays saved 4.2 million dollars, pitched to a 3.77 FIP after trade
- Hechavarria: Rays saved 1.95 million dollars, worth 0.4 WAR in 2018
- Miller: Rays saved 3.02 million, posted 0.0 WAR and 97 wRC+ in 2018
- Archer: Rays saved 2.06 million for 2018, pitched to a 4.30 ERA after trade
- Ramos: Rays saved 3.74 million
- Eovaldi: Rays saved 660K

Lets look at the players that the Rays had replace these "all-stars"

- Smith (replacing Span) : posted a 3.4 WAR for the season
- Wendle (replacing Miller) : posted a 3.7 WAR for the season
- Duffy (replacing Longoria) : posted a 2.4 WAR for the season
- Adames (replacing Hechavarria) : posted a 1.3 WAR for the season
- Alvarado (replacing Colome) : posted a 2.27 FIP in high leverage situations for the season
- Perez (replacing Ramos) : posted a 89 wRC+ in rookie season after trade
- Lowe (replacing Miller) : posted a 113 wRC+ in rookie season after all-star break
- Meadows (return for Archer trade) : posted 223 wRC+ in 179 PA at AAA after trade
- Glasnow (return for Archer) : posted a 3.47 xFIP after trade for Rays
- Beeks (return for Eovaldi) : posted 2.69 FIP in AAA for 2018

"I think that'll be a huge blow to Tampa Bay, and in looking for new cities, it could be a critical blow if they lose revenue sharing dollars because the owners are greedy pigs. "

Again, your opinion is completely based on lack of information. The Rays currently have a new stadium lined up and have until the end of the year to secure the funding. The Rays are not losing revenue sharing dollars in the future, they are clearly within the mean of revenue percentage spending, which is a much smaller margin than you would suspect.

And again, I feel like I must reiterate, after the Rays traded away all of the players that you referenced, they had the 4th highest winning percentage in baseball. The Rays won 90 games on the year, with a higher winning percentage in the second half after all of these "big money" players were traded away. Do you think that maybe the Rays might just have really talented young players that deserve to play over the overpaid veterans, maybe? And, maybe, they still have these very talented players, with more on the way, under control for very cheap, which gives them financial flexibility this offseason to add more salary?

Weird, I could swear the Rays are in the top 10 for 2019 power rankings. oh wait, they are.

goo.gl/nhzvqi

11.) 15 Nov 2018
15 Nov 2018 04:04:49
You don't NEED to spend money. But the players deserve their share of the profits. The Rays, instead of paying the product people came to see, they kept the profits, especially for the second half. They cleared most the money off the books by July/ August.

Just admit, the Rays found a way to win despite having incredibly greedy pigs for owners. I don't care how successful they were when they literally stole money from the players.

They'll lose their revenue sharing if they continue to pocket it instead of putting it on the field (which is what it's purpose is) .

12.) 15 Nov 2018
15 Nov 2018 04:10:30
Again, I'm going to laugh when no one wants to go to Tampa Bay this winter. As I've asked, why would they? Why would they sign up to go to a rubbishty stadium, with rubbishty owners, and no fan base, only to get moved to another city in 4 months?

Trust me, agents and the players are well aware of how garbage the situation in Tampa Bay is. And they can continue to win with controllable players, until the MLBPA issues their NEW grievance, which is what I'm referencing. You'll see it come into play sooner or later.

I don't care how many games they win. Their owners are greedy pigs who keep the money from players. The MLBPA will win to get that money dished out to the current roster and the Rays won't have the money to pocket for a new stadium.

Then the team will move back to Montreal, and leave hole that is Tampa. And all will be right in baseball again.

13.) 15 Nov 2018
15 Nov 2018 19:36:23
I am going to say this, the Rays were lucky to win 90 games last year. They had basically one starter the whole year, they got lucky with this "opener" concept, but it needs to die before it becomes more of thing. If a team needs a spot starter or an emergency start, then fine. But Tampa has very few fans, most people that live in the area are Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, or Phillie fans, like the rest of Florida.

14.) 15 Nov 2018
15 Nov 2018 20:15:30
Holy crap, man. Is this a baseball forum or a Trump rally? You are so full of hate and rhetoric. Seriously, did the Rays personally do something to you? Does it anger you to see small market teams do well with a low payroll? Wow, dude.

Ok. let's address your concerns:

- Again, the Rays pay the same percentage of their revenue as every other team. “As a percentage, the Rays spent 56.2% of revenue on their players in 2017, which is nearly identical to Lindbergh’s findings for baseball overall. ”

- “until the MLBPA issues their NEW grievance, which is what I'm referencing”…Please feel free to support your claims with links as I have

- Do you think small market teams should be penalized and forced to spend a higher percentage of their revenues than large market teams? The whole point behind revenue sharing was not only to provide financial support to the smaller market clubs, and create a more level playing ground, but also to keep teams in large markets in check.

- The Rays are not tanking. The Rays are a competitive team that just happens to be smart with their money and have a strong farm system. I assume you had a huge issue when the Cubs and Astros tanked? Were their owners “greedy pigs” too? I'd hope so.

- “Incredibly greedy pigs for owners…literally stole money from the players”…Again, this is just false, hateful rhetoric. Stuart Sternberg and his group are well liked and respected in the area. They are doing the best they can with their current situation and are actively trying very hard to improve the Rays future. They are not “literally” stealing from anyone just because they don’t spend more money than they have to.

- You continually fail to recognize that the more expensive, older players the Rays traded away performed worse than the younger cheaper players who replaced them. So you think teams should just roster more expensive, worse players instead of better, cheaper players? Wouldn't that lead to less wins? The Rays GM just finished second for MLB executive of the year, I think most in the baseball world think he's doing a damn good job.

- The MLBPA and the owners created guidelines, of which the Rays are complying.

- If you are so concerned about “money for players, ” how about you focus your energy on getting teams to pay their minor leaguers more money? You know that the average lower-level minor leaguer makes around 1,100 dollars a month? The average AAA players only makes around 10,000 a month. If anything, teams who rely on their minor league depth are actually HELPING these young, poor players make more "money". As soon as one of these minor league players is added to the 40 man roster, they make a minimum of 40 thousand a month, and soon as they make it to the major leagues, they obviously make a base salary of 550+ thousand a year. But you would rather see these spots go to less talented, older guys who already have millions of dollars in the bank?

- You should talk about the MLBPA and owners getting together to make the DH universal. That alone would create 15 job openings right away. A lot of the players who have had a tough time findings jobs of late in free agency are defensively challenged hitters. Making the DH universal would be a huge boon for their market. How about MLB just expands the major league roster to 26 or 27 players? They have been talking about doing this for years. Seems like a more productive suggestion.

- Here are some facts about Tropicana Field:

- Yes, the stadium kinda sucks because it’s a dome. You just don’t get the same baseball atmosphere as you would Fenway, Rigley, etc.

- However, the Rays ownerships has poured a lot of money into making sure the stadium is in excellent condition and is a pleasant experience inside. Having been to Yankee, Shea, and Fenway, I can tell you that the Trop is way cleaner, bigger, and has way more fan experience features inside. It is not a “rubbishty (sp? ) ” stadium.

- The biggest problem with Tropicana Field is the location, not the fan base. The Rays actually have one of the better TV market viewerships in MLB. Where the stadium is located right now, it has by far the smallest residential population within a 30 minute radius than any other MLB team. In fact, it is smaller than some AAA teams. Tampa Bay is quite large, however the stadium is located at the southern most part of Tampa Bay, down in south St. Petersburg. Further, the demographic for this area is full of old retirees, not exactly the young fan base a team needs to thrive.

- The Rays ownership has been working very, very hard for many years on getting a new stadium. Unfortunately, they are still working off of a pre-existing lease that doesn’t even expire until 2027. The Rays ownership have also had to deal with a mayor that refused to let the Rays break their lease. Thankfully, a newly elected mayor has given the Rays the opportunity to secure a new stadium in a better location.

- The Rays have long been plagued by one of the lowest-revenue television deals in baseball. However, The Sports Business Journal reports the Rays are close to a 15-year extension with Fox Sports regional Sun Sports network that will pay on average $82 million per year, almost 3 times more than their current deal. When the Rays secure a new stadium in Tampa and a new television deal, they will be able to attract more fans and corporate support and should be able to dramatically increase their payroll. The Rays management is just desperately trying to get across the finish line and get the process started.

- “I don't care how many games they win. ” Isn’t that the whole point, to win games? If they are smart with their money and can win lots of games despite not throwing their money away, why should they have to spend more? Sure, I completely agree that teams should not be allowed to tank and teams should spend more money to win, but the Rays are winning. The Rays are one of the winningest teams over the past 10 years. Spending more money on older players with no market is not going to make them better, so why do it? The Rays worked very hard to build back up their farm system and now it is starting to bare fruit.

- Have you actually been to Tampa btw? curious.

- In closing, it seems like the biggest issues you have are not with the Rays in particular, but with the collect bargaining agreement that both the owners and the MLBPA agreed upon. Why you insist on taking out these frustrations out on the Rays specifically is beyond me. It's like being angry at a girl for liking the guy with the better sense of humor and personality instead of the guy who spends the most money on her. Sometimes, guys just got game.

15.) 15 Nov 2018
15 Nov 2018 21:06:28
Me spending my "energy" going after the Rays actually fits into my ethic. If you believe players should get paid, then it only follows that you should go after those who aren't paying the players.

You seem to think it's okay to systematically withhold the revenue from employees if it means being successful. Which makes your "Trump rally" comment hilariously ironic.

If I owned a business, I could be far more successful in making money if I only paid all my employees eight bucks an hour and just get rid of all those who probably deserve a raise or those who make twelve an hour. I'd be wildly successful, because I'd make more money.

The players deserve the lions share of the profits. I don't care WHO gets that money. Give it to Blake Snell for all I care.

But the owners and front office aren't even being secretive about withholding the profits from the players. And I can't envision players lining up to play there (if Tampa Bay really truly even offers those players anything. We'll see) .

16.) 15 Nov 2018
15 Nov 2018 21:17:37
It's so blatantly obvious that Zack Greinke (albeit a VERY smart dude) has flat out said that the Rays are looking to withhold money from the players.

One article put it this way: "The owners save this money and pocket it instead of reinvesting it into the team. Then they’ll turn around, cry poor, and ask residents of Tampa to foot the billion-dollar bill for a new stadium in Ybor City, roughly 25 minutes from their current digs. "

Just accept the truth for what it is: The Rays owners have a new stadium to help finance. And so they're refusing to pay the players, because every penny they pay the players goes against the profits they are trying to generate for themselves.

This isn't cynical, it's something being done right in front of your eyes. And their justification is that it wins games. The Rays ownership are flimflamming the residents better than LeBron did to Akron with "his" school. Pull your head out of the sand and see the truth: They are conning the city into building them a stadium, all the while running to the bank with the profits.

I just really hope the folks in Tampa aren't dumb enough to actually fall for this. I'm not holding out hope.