Bartlett Trade Unlikely
A recent CBS Sports blog commented on the prospect of the Rays trading shortstop Jason Bartlett to fill their right-field void, noting, "the Rays are willing to trade him, according to a baseball official who has spoken to the Rays."
While anything is possible, it's hard to imagine the Rays trading Bartlett, who was voted by Rays beat writers as the team's most valuable player in 2008 and served as a major cog for the Rays' run to the World Series. A club official agreed that such a prospect would be hard to imagine.
Shortstop Reid Brignac is a top prospect in the Rays' organization and spent most of the 2008 season at Triple-A Durham, save for a cup of coffee with the Rays. So the Rays do have a shortstop waiting in the wings, in addition to shortstop Tim Beckham, who was the top overall pick of the 2008 Draft.
--Bill Chastain
Trading Jason Bartlett for Delmon Young would be a disaster that would ruin the Rays clubhouse. But, a return to Minnesota for right-fielder Dennard Span might be a good trade.
Bartlett is in his arbitration years and might command a salary of about $ 2 million dollars after the hearing. If the Rays can lock him up under that total of give him an extended contract with the stipulation he will go to the Twins again, it could be a good deal.
Do not underestimate Ben Zobrist or the love Rays Manager Joe Maddon has for the guy. He has been a class act ever since Bartlett came here, and will be a Super Utility guy if he stays for 2009.
Zobrist could be the starter at shortstop since he has done it before for the team in recent years. Plus "Zorilla's" bat is becoming a huge piece of lumber to keep sitting on the bench.
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to tell you the truth, i think this would be quite a stupid deal for the Rays. when you look at the teams looking for a shortstop, there are not many decent right fielders available. the teams looking for a shortstop would include the Tigers, Giants, A's, and possibly the Pirates. when you look at the realistic options, they include Jack Cust (.231, 33 HR) from Oakland, Marcus Thames (.241, 25 HR) or prospect Ryan Rayburn from Detroit, there are a couple of prospects from San Fransisco, (but are any of them really worth Bartlett?) and finally, the same goes for Pittsburgh. any other players or teams are probably going to demand a package for a player, and although the Rays have good depth at some positions, they just went to the World Series. why trade away something good, and something that will be good in the future? spend some cash and find an outfielder. if the price is right, i think Abreu would fight nicely in Tampa.
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If Abreu came to Tampa Bay, the Cowbell Kid will not be a fan of Bobby's. Early in the year he insulted Abreu as a Yankee from the stands and that might take a bit of time to heal.
I also think the price tag of Abreu will not be to the liking of the Rays. Maybe he will end up back in Philly............weirder things have happened.
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