One Small Step For The Devil Rays, One Giant Leap For Josh Hamilton

It came about two weeks later than expected, but Major League Baseball has finally given Josh Hamilton permission to play baseball. Earlier this month Hamilton was given permission to participate in extended spring training. The next obvious step was to reinstate Hamilton and allow him to report to one of the low-level minor league teams. The wording of this reinstatement sounds like the league hasn’t fully reinstated Hamilton. He will be allowed to participate in minor league games. If and when Josh is ever ready to play for the Devil Rays may still require the permission of Major League Baseball. That may even include any participation with the big league club in Spring Training next season. At 25, Josh is four seasons removed from his last official baseball game and has only played 23 games above single-A. Needless to say we are skeptical, at best, of ever seeing Hamilton play for the Devil Rays in the Trop, but we wouldn’t put it past a kid who many have labeled as the best prospect they ever saw. To date, there have been two overall #1 picks that never made the major leagues (Brien Taylor, 1991 by the Yankees and Steve Chilcutt, 1966 by the Mets). Josh Hamilton (and to a lesser extent Matt Bush, 2004 by the Padres) is in real danger of joining that infamous list. If he is going to avoid that dubious distinction, he needs to come out swinging and show everybody why the Devil Rays gave him a $4 million bonus out of high school and why the team continues to stick by their former phenom. And he needs to do it soon, real soon.

Hamilton will begin his comeback with the short-season single-A Husdon Valley Renegades on Monday night against the Brooklyn Cyclones.

So what is the final chapter in the Josh Hamilton story going to look like? Will it look like Brien Taylor? Or will it look like Roy Hobbs? Here is hoping that reality can be stranger than fiction.

Hamilton reinstated by MLB [tbo.com]
Josh Hamilton coming to the Hudson Valley Renegades [Hudson Valley Renegades]

Devil Rays @ Washington Nationals Tidbits

• This series marks the Devil Rays first ever appearance in Washington D. C.
• The Rays are 34-45, 15.5 games behind the Red Hose and 2.5 games arear of the O’s. They have lost 4 of 6 including a series loss to the Marlins. Tampa is now 10-5 in interleague games heading into their final three games versus a National League opponent.
• The Nationals are 33-47, 15 games behind the New York Mets, in last place of the NL East. They are coming off a series sweep at the hands of the Blue Jays, and have lost 8 of last 9 and 13 of last 16. Washington is 5-10 in interleague games.
• The Devil Rays will be sending three starting pitchers to the mound in this series that were not on the opening day roster.
• If you would like to see a National’s Blogger’s take on Alfonso Soriano playing the outfield, look no further than here. While the National’s have one of the worst teams in baseball, they do have one of the better sports blogs in the Blogosphere. RI hopes to one day grow up to be just like Ball-Wonk.

Probable Pitchers
Friday, 7:05 et
Devil Rays Tim Corcoran, RHP (1-0, 2.16)
Washington Mike O’Connor, LHP (3-4, 3.39)

Saturday, 7:05 et
Devil Rays James Shields, RHP (4-1, 4.37)
Washington Livan Hernandez, RHP (6-8, 5.57)

Sunday, 1:05 et
Devil Rays Jae Seo, RHP (0-0, 0.00)
Washington Ramon Ortiz, RHP (5-5, 5.18)

Evan Longoria: A Man Among Rookies

A few days ago, we commented about the torrid start of the Devil Rays first round selection Eva Evan Longoria. Andrew Freidman had stated that the plan was for Longoria to play the 2006 regular season at Hudson Valley and then spend this fall in the Arizona Fall League working at different positions (2B, SS). While other first round picks are just beginning to negotiate contracts, Longoria has already earned his first promotion. He is being moved to the high-A Visalia Oaks, in the process, bypassing the low-A Southwest Michigan Devil Rays (The Devil Rays tend to send hitting prospects to the hitter-friendly California League and pitching prospects to SW Michigan). At Hudson Valley, Longoria batted .424 (14-33) with 4 home runs and 11 RBI in only 8 games. Is Longoria on the fast track to the major leagues?

update: We are quickly turning into big Evan Longoria fans and are working on a nickname. There is too much to love about this guy. First and foremost is the picture above. Gotta love the old-school look with the pants just below the knees. Add to that is fact that Longoria played for a college baseball team whose nickname is “Dirtbags“. This kid just reeks “baseball player”. In a time when too many scouts and GMs talk about skills, tools and talent, it is nice to see a team draft a player that may not be the fastest or throw the hardest but ust happens to be a really good baseball player. We’ll take a team full of Longoria’s anytime.

Devil Rays’ Minor League All-Stars

• Firstbaseman Kevin Witt was elected by the fans to start the AAA All-Star game. Witt is hitting .294 and leads the IL with 19 home runs and is second with 53 RBI. Shortstop B. J. Upton and catcher Shawn Riggans were named as reserves. Upton is hitting .258-5-31 with an IL leading 30 stolen bases. Riggans is hitting .305-8-36. [Durham Bulls]
• Five players from the Montgomery Biscuits were named to the AA Southern League All-Star game. The participants include catcher Ryan Christianson, third baseman Wes Bankston, second baseman Elliot Johnson, and starting pitcher Jim Magrane. Relief pitcher Juan Salas was also named to the team, but will not participate due to his recent promotion to the Devil Rays, er…we mean the Durham Bulls. Christianson is hitting .217, but is second in the SL with 13 home runs. Johnson is hitting .288-10-31 with 13 stolen bases. Bankston spent a portion of the first half on the disabled list and is hitting .288-3-17 in 35 games. Magrane is 9-6 with a 3.26 ERA and leads the SL in wins.
• The single-A California League has already conducted their all-star game, losing to the Carolina League all-stars 6-3. Shortstop Reid Brignac, left fielder Patrick Breen, and DH John Jaso were named to the team. The Cajun God of Baseball, Brignac was named top player for the CL team after going 2-4 with an RBI. Breen (0-4) and Jaso (1-3) were also starters.
• The low-A Midwest League had their all-star game on Tuesday June 20, with five players from the Southwest Michigan Devil Rays. Starting pitchers Wade Davis, Jacob McGee, Mike Wlodarczyk, closer Greg Dupas and first baseman Rhyne Hughes were named to the east squad. The East beat the West 7-1. McGee pitched the second inning and picked up the victory. Davis pitched one out, and Dupas pitched a perfect 9th with 2 strikeouts. Hughes was used as a pinch hitter and got a single. Wlodarczyk did not play.
  

Devil Ray Blogtopia

• Nice pickup by new Devil Rays Blog Rays of Light. Apparently the Mets were interested in Seo before he was acquired by the Rays. The Mets may be interested in Julio Lugo (to play 2B), and could try to get Seo also. [Rays of Light]
• Raystalk does not hold back in their in depth analysis of B. J. Upton. In short, they would like Upton to be called up to play SS this season and have him fall flat on his face. This would give Upton incentive to move to a new position. We also agree very strongly with the following statement…”until there is an OF glut, there is no such thing as an OF glut.” [Raystalk]
• One blogger has named Carl Crawford and Jonny Gomes to the All-Star under-25 team. Where is Kid K?. [Sox1Fan]
• “Hot Carl for Crawford”? [Apimpment255]
• C. C. Baseball’s best basestealer? [Baseball’s Best]
• My Blog agrees. There! Its unanimous. Interestingly, they also name former Ray Joey Gathright as the #5 speedster. [My Blog]
• What would C. C. command in a trade? Here is one possibility. [Strike Two]
• Lot of talk recently about all the troubles of the Devil Rays’ top prospects. Quite frankly, we are tired of hearing about it. We all knew Elijah Dukes was trouble and we had an inkling about Delmon Young, but nobody could have predicted this. And what athlete hasn’t been picked up for DUI? [The Prospect Pulse][Naughty Baseball]
• And here is an excellent write-up on Elijah Dukes from someone that watched him in his days at AA Montgomery [Talk Alabama]
• For those of you that are regular readers of RI, you know how much we love Juan Salas down at Durham. Is he one of the top 5 relief pitchers in the minors? The stats don’t lie. [Inside The Dugout]
• Dmitri Young…Delmon’s Role Model [The Wayne Fontes Experience]

Welcome To The Devil Rays

Devil Rays 3, Florida 1. (Quick Note: What is wrong with Casey Fossum’s arm in this picture? Is it us, or does it look like it he does not have an elbow? Does this explain why his most effective pitch is the 45 mph Fossum Flop? Yes we like the name “Fossum Flop” much better than “Fossum Flip”.) Both Dioner Navarro and Jae Seo made their debuts for the Rays last night. Navarro was in the starting lineup and batted 8th. He was 0-2 with 2 walks. Our first thoughts on Navarro? The is big. We do see the similarity with Ivan Rodriguez, which is the origin of Navarro’s nickname “Pudgito” or “Little Pudge”. But there is a distinct difference. This kid is much bigger than Pudge from the knees to the chest. Navarro has some of the biggest legs we have ever seen on a baseball player. Seo also made an appearance out of the bullpen. He relieved Fossum in the 6th and pitched 2 scoreless innings, allowing 1 hit and 2 walks. Our first thoughts on Seo? Well, he needs a new tailor. The guys over at Uniwatch noticed right away that Seo’s nameplate was upside down (it curved up instead of down). We also noticed, that for some reason Seo is going with the number 98. In Japan and his stints with the Mets and Los Angeles, Seo wore the number 26. Needless to say, we don’t think Seo will be able to pry 26 from Kid K. But 98? 98 is a number worn by non-roster invitees in Spring Training. Well, it seemed to work for him last night. As for pitching out of the bullpen…Seo is scheduled to be the starting pitcher on Sunday. Joe Maddon did indicate before the game that Seo would be available from the bullpen and that it would not affect his scheduled start on Sunday since Seo has been pitching relief in Los Angeles.
The Devil Rays have the day off today as they travel to D. C. to play the Nationals.

Turn that frown upside-down [Uniwatch]

Carl Crawford Is Not Going Anywhere

A couple of weeks ago we commented on the recent trade rumors involving Carl Crawford. At the time we talked at length about why it might be a very beneficial to trade a player that is young (24), signed through 2010 at a reasonable rate, and a future All-Star. In short, the Devil Rays do not have a more valuable piece (other than Scott Kazmir) at a position that could potentially be filled from within. A player like C. C. would command a hefty price on the trading market. The main team said to have inquired about C. C. is the Anaheim Los Angeles Angels (with Detroit and Colorado also rumored). The proposal involved Ervin Santana, one of the best young pitchers in the American League and possibly one or two minor league prospects.

What we did not say at the time and we should have made clear, is that while we understand the reasoning behind trading Crawford, we think the chance of Crawford being moved before the trading deadline is highly unlikely. In fact there is a better chance of the Devil Rays rehiring Chuck LaMar . We would be shocked if Crawford is not playing for Tampa Bay for the next four or five years. There are several reasons for this…

1. The Devil Rays have a plan. That plan is the same for most small-market teams. Develop young talent and then lock them up to long-term deals that span their arbitration years and their first few years of free agency. It benefits the player who may only be making the major league minimum their first few years, and benefits the team with below market salaries later in the contract if the player turns into a stud. In this case, Crawford fits that mold perfectly and it would not make sense for the Devil Rays to trade him.

2. The recent troubles of minor league prospects Delmon Young and Elijah Dukes as well as the recent trade sending Joey Gathright to the Royals, shows that the teams depth at outfield may not be what many thought it was.

3. This is the most important point…What exactly would C. C. command in a trade? Presumably Ervin Santana and a couple of minor leaguers was not enough and it probably should not be. So if the team was to trade Crawford, what would it take to pry him off the hands of Tampa? A couple of names come to mind…Dontrelle Willis and C. C. Sabathia (C. C. for C. C.?). This is not to say that the Marlins or Indians have any interest in Crawford, but this is the type of player that it would take, and we just can’t see a trade like that happening. It would take a young pitcher that has already proved it at the major league level with the potential to be an All-Star year-in and year-out. Those type of trades don’t happen very often. The Mets have been trying to trade for Barry Zito for two years.

While trade rumors and proposals are floating around in the Blogosphere, we hope and expect them to experience the same fate of most rumors…a quick and painless death, while #13 continues to roam the left field of the Trop and cause havoc on the basepaths.

A Look At The Future: Down On The Farm

• Evan Longoria. In his first week of professional games, Longoria is making the Devil Rays look good with their selection of the infielder with the 4th pick in this year’s draft. In 7 games, Longoria has 14 hits and is batting .452 with 4 home runs and 11 RBI. In his first week, he has a 5-6 game and last night he was 3-4 with 2 home runs and 5 RBI. And while it is still early, he has an impressive 4:3 strikeout to walk ratio. Andrew Friedman has stated that the plan is to have Longoria play the entire season at Hudson Valley, and manager Joe Maddon is on the record as saying that the team’s prospects need to prove themselves at each level before they will be promoted. It will be interesting to see if the team moves up the timetable for Longoria if he continues to dominate the single A New York-Penn league.
• Jeff Niemann. Niemann made his second start of the 2006 season Sunday. The team continues to bring him back slowly as Niemann only worked four innings picking up his second loss. He allowed 3 hits, 2 walks and 3 runs, while striking out 5. The Biscuits have yet to score a run in Niemann’s starts.
• Delmon Young. Young has picked up right where left off, following his 50-game suspension. In 7 games he is 9-24 (.375). Unfortunately he still hasn’t shown the power this season that is expected from him. In those 7 games, he has 1 extra-base hit (double) and 4 RBI. In 27 games Young has only 5 extra-base hits (4 doubles and 1 triple). No home runs must be a reason for concern for the Devil Rays brass. Delmon had 26 home runs between Montgomery and Durham last season and is considered one of the better power prospects in the minors.
• J. P. Howell. Howell was scheduled to make his second start for the Durham Bulls last night, but the game was rained out. Look for Howell to be on the mound for today’s double-header.
• Juan Salas. The minor league player we want most to see playing in the Trop? B. J.? No… Delmon? No… Jeff Niemann? No…The player we want in the majors more than anybody is Juan Salas. Another week for Salas and another week not allowing any runs. The converted infielder can hit the upper 90s with a fastball that has been labeled as a “natural cutter”. Since his promotion to Durham, Salas has pitched 7 innings in 5 appearances, allowing 2 hits and 4 walks, while striking out 8. We understand that Salas has only been in Durham for two weeks, and the team does not want to rush him, but what are they waiting for? He does walk batters a little more than you would like, but it seems like nobody can hit him. In 41.2 innings this season, he has allowed 15 (!) hits. The Devil Rays need help in the bullpen. Juan Salas is that help.
• Other Notes. Kevin Witt continues to lead the International League in home runs and RBI with 19 and 53. He is hitting .297 and has major league experience. Look for Witt to share time with Ty Wiggington at first base if and when Travis Lee is traded…B. J. Upton leads the IL in stolen bases with 30, but has been caught 13 times. He is hitting .264-5-31…2B Eliot Johnson is hitting .290-10-30 with 11 doubles, 7 triples and 13 stolen bases at Montgomery…SS Reid Brignac is 3rd in the California League with a .334 batting average, and is 4th in home runs with 14…Jacob McGee and Wade Davis are 1-2 in the Midwest League with 108 and 101 strikeouts respectively.

Hall And Hendrickson Shipped To Dodgers

Major League Baseball just announced that the deal to send Toby Hall and Mark Hendrickson to the Dodgers has been finalized. Tampa receives catcher Dioner Navarro, right handed pitcher Jae Seo and a player to be named later.

Navarro was one of the prospects the Dodgers received in the three-way trade that sent Randy Johnson to the Yankees and Shawn Green to the Diamondbacks. Navarro is young (22) and is considered a very strong defensive catcher, that is yet to develop as a hitter. He was named the Yankees 2003 minor league player of the year after splitting the season between Tampa and Trenton where he hit .341 with 3 home runs in 58 games. He was considered the Dodger’s catcher of the future and had played 25 games in Dodger Blue this season batting .280 with 2 home runs and was considered expendable with the emergence of Russell Martin. Navarro recently spent a stint on the DL with a bone bruise in his wrist and when he was activated was optioned to AAA Las Vegas where his hitting .175 in 11 games.

Seo, 29 was traded to the Dodgers this past off-season after spending parts of the past 3 seasons with the Mets. This season he was 2-4 with a 5.78 ERA in 10 starts (19 appearances) with the Dodgers and had recently been demoted to the bullpen. Last season for the Mets he showed signs of brilliance, going 8-2 with a 2.59 ERA in 14 starts after a mid-season call-up.

As we stated earlier today, we understand the logic behind this trade. Both Hendrickson and Hall are arbitration eligible at the end of the season, which means the team will save $8-12 million in salary in 2007 that can be used to bring in one or two free agent pitchers. We are a bit concerned about the young pitching staff working without a veteran behind the plate. On the other hand, catcher is the one position where the Devil Rays lack a strong major league prospect. Trading for Navarro gives Tampa their starting catcher for the next 10 years. The addition of Seo makes the trade a more palatable. Seo has a bigger upside than Hendrickson although he has struggled this season. If Seo can rediscover his form from 2005, this deal could end up being a steal for the Rays.

As for the “player to be named later”…the Dodger’s most likely gave the Devil Rays a list of 3-5 minor leaguers, and the Rays have a certain number of weeks to scout those players and determine which one they want. Look for this player to be a low-level minor leaguer with marginal major league potential.

Rays acquire Navarro and Seo from the Dodgers [mlb.com]

Are Mark Hendrickson And Toby Hall On Their Way To La-La Land?

The Devil Rays have already made one trade sending Joey Gathright to the Royals for a promising pitching prospect, J. P. Howell. There are also rumors that several teams (Angels, Rockies, others?) are pursuing Carl Crawford (more on that later). In addition, the Rays have several veterans that are slated to be free agents at the end of the season, including Aubrey Huff, Julio Lugo and Travis Lee. Now the Tampa Tribune is reporting that the Rays are close to completing a deal that would send Mark Hendrickson and Toby Hall to the Dodgers for catching prospect Dioner Navarro.

Navarro was one of the prospects sent to the Dodgers in the three-way trade that sent Randy Johnson to the Yankees and Shawn Green to the Diamondbacks. Navarro is young (22) and is considered a very strong defensive catcher, that is yet to develop as a hitter. He was named the Yankees 2003 minor league player of the year after splitting the season between Tampa and Trenton where he hit .341 with 3 home runs in 58 games. He is considered the Dodger’s catcher of the future and has played 25 games in Dodger Blue this season batting .280 with 2 home runs. Navarro is considered expendable with the emergence of Russell Martin. Navarro recently spent a stint on the DL with a bone bruise in his foot and when he was activated was optioned to AAA Las Vegas where his hitting .175 in 11 games.

The question is…Is Hall and Hendrickson too big a price to pay for a catching prospect? We have no trouble trading Hendrickson, who just turned 32, and would be considered to be worth a lot on the trade market as a left handed starter who eats up innings and has a strong ERA if not a record to reflect how well he has pitched this season. His contract for this season is reasonable at approximately $2 million. The problem is Hendrickson is arbitration eligible at the end of the season and likely would command a hefty raise. Toby Hall is in a similar boat making slightly more this season ($2.3 million) and is also arbitration eligible at the end of the season. We can’t see Hall increasing his salary too much, but he will command a raise. Where our concern lies is in how the loss of Huff will affect the pitching staff. A pitching staff as young as the Rays’ with the likes of Kid K, James Shields, Tim Corcoran, Edwin Jackson and company, needs a veteran presence behind the plate. In addition, Hall is starting to develop into a solid offensive contributor. He will never be an all-star at the plate, but we can see him becoming a .280-20-80 hitter. Then again, Hall is 31 himself, and his shelf-life as a catcher we begin to decline in the next couple of years. But by then, the staff will have matured

So…is Hendrickson and Hall too big a price? Hard to say. The team will save a lot of money from the 2007 payroll. We would guess that team would save $8-12 million by moving both players, which could be used to bring in one or two veteran pitchers. The other reason this trade makes sense, is that catcher is the one position in the minors that the Devil Rays lack a strong major league prospect. Navarro would likely immediately step in and become the Rays’ starting catcher for the next decade. The move would make more sense if the team can bring in a veteran backup catcher for the 2007 season at a cheap price.

Of course there could be a small bidding war for Hendrickson and Hall. The Yankees have shown interest in Hall, having scouted him several times. Now that Vince Naimoli is no longer running the team, there is a better chance of the Rays and Yankees working together, considering the animosity between George Steinbrenner and Naimoli. However, we find it hard to believe that the Yankees can generate a package that would be strong enough to entice the Tampa Brass.

So then who is next if this trade goes through? The logical and obvious choices are Huff and Lugo and to a lesser extent, Travis Lee. Huff has started his traditional second half surge in the last couple of weeks, in which he has raised his average from below the Mendoza Line to .242, batting .325 in June after a .175 May and .182 April. Huff and Lugo have been the object of other team’s affections for over a year and will be moved before the July 31 trading deadline. Huff could be a target for the Detroit Tigers who could use a DH. Moving Lugo (several teams are interested) would open the door for B. J. ‘Don’t Call Me Melvin’ Upton. The team needs to see if Upton is a Major League shortstop and could use the second half of this season to make that determination. His bat and speed are ready, and need to be in the bigs. The wildcard is Travis Lee. Lee could command a mid-level minor league prospect from a contending team, looking for a solid defensive first baseman that could come off the bench late in games (N
ew York Yankees?).

As the calendar is about to turn to July, the next 5 weeks could be the busiest trading month ever for this young franchise. The new regime has already shown that they are not afraid to pull the trigger on a trade and we would not be surprised if on August 1st, Lugo, Huff, Hendrickson, Hall and Lee are all playing elsewhere.

Rays May Trade Hall, Hendrickson [tbo.com]
Trade bait lures Nats, Brewers [Newsday]
As Upton waits, trading Lugo makes sense [St. Pete Times]