What could make the Tampa Bay Rays interesting to watch this offseason is their habit of trading players during their arbitration years. Tampa Bay operates under tight payroll restraints, which was limited to $76 million last year and won’t get much higher. Just think of David Price and James Shields, and former general manager Andrew Friedman and manager Joe Maddon.
The Rays have a handful of players that could be enticing other teams, but only one the Mets should consider. Potentially available are outfielders Matt Joyce , David DeJesus and Desmond Jennings, and infielders Yunel Escobar, Ben Zobrist and James Loney. At least one of those outfielders could be had because the Rays have Wil Myers slated for right at league minimum, and they love Kevin Kiermaier, who is outstanding defensively and will likely man center field.
Ben Zobrist, IF/OF
I love Ben Zobrist, he provides immense value to a baseball team with his ability to play multiple positions defensively, and play them well. He’s switch-hitter, although he hits lefties much better than he does righties, and provides some pop at 2B and/or SS. The problem I see here with Zobrist is that there will be many teams lined up for his services if he is made available. The Rays picked up his $7.5 million option, but most believe he’s gone. He provides the most value and is best suited for 2B, and we already have Murphy, Flores and Herrera on the team. options.
Yunel Escobar, SS
Mets fans remember him for giving Ryan Church a concussion several years ago, which effectively ended his career. Escobar is a stud defensively, and he has shown some pop, as far as shortstops go from time to time. He is signed to a reasonable $5 million contract for the 2015 season. All things point to him being a pretty good fit for the Mets. The knock on Escobar has been his attitude, and that is something that can crush a team in a hurry. I think Joe Maddon has a lot to do with keeping Yunel happy, and playing well during his stint in Tampa, and I cant see Terry Collins having the same effect. Kevin Plawecki might certainly interest Tampa Bay, as would any of our pitching prospects, but Escobar scares me a bit.
Matt Joyce, LF
Joyce will be arbitration eligible for the third and final time in the coming months before he hits free agency after the 2015 season. He projects to make at or around $6 million. It was rumored that Joyce was offered straight up for Ike Davis, last offseason, before the Rays signed James Loney to man first base. Joyce isn’t a star by any means, and plays average, at best, defense in LF. But with big pay raise, the Rays will almost assuredly try to unload him. Joyce can hit righties well (.263/.365/.398 in 2014), but struggles mightily against LHP. He’s a great guy to have as part of a platoon, but the Mets already have left-handed hitters Curtis Granderson, Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Matt den Dekker, and the last two make considerably less than Joyce. He could probably be had relatively cheap, but is not a fit at this time.
Desmond Jennings, CF
Jennings is another outfielder to keep an eye on this winter as it was rumored that he was floated around at the trade deadline last summer. This former top prospect has his stock down due to injury concerns and he’s been up and down offensively so far. Jennings has three years of team control remaining and will be eligible for arbitration this offseason. Jennings would fit nicely in RF for the Mets as he bats from the right side, and would be terrific defensively paired with Juan Lagares. He’s not much of a power threat, but he has shown some pop, and would probably steal more often in the NL. If Jennings puts it all together, he could be a steal, and a steady force at the top of the lineup for the Mets. But if he produces at the same levels that he did in 2014, or even takes a step back, he’s little more than a borderline starter or fourth outfielder. There’s just too much risk involved here for me.
David DeJesus, OF
DeJesus is an interesting name to watch this winter and much like Joyce, he is strictly a platoon guy. He had only 7 AB vs LHP in 2014. He did, however, hit .251/.345/.411 against righties, and plays average to above average defense, depending on if he is playing CF, or an OF corner. I think he could be a good fit with the Mets in a leadoff role. He doesn’t have a ton of power, but he does get on base, and he had 23 extra-base hits in 230 AB vs RHP. He would fit nicely in a platoon at the top of the lineup with Lagares batting leadoff against lefties. One could argue that den Dekker may very well turn out to be a David DeJesus type player as soon as 2015 though, so I’m not sure taking on the additional salary and trading away players would make a ton of sense in this case.
Next up on MMO: We’ll take a look at the rest of the AL East and see how the Blue Jays, Yankees and Orioles match-up with Mets.
