Rays Looking To Deal Jackson Or Hammel?

I don't think the Rays would want Murton. He's pretty much redundant with Gomes there.

I could see a scenario with the Giants. They seem ready to cut bait with all of their veterans.

I can obviously see the angels making sense, but do not know if either jackson or hammel is enough to get willits or rivera. I am sure that that the A's could be an option as well.

"I think the BoSox would normally be willing to part with Crisp for somebody like Jackson - but it is hard to see the two teams discussing it within the division." -mattyc44

Absolutely 100% not a fit with the Sox. The Red Sox do not have room for another pitcher that's out of options. As is they've got to cut or trade more. For a pitcher with options, yes, Crisp is a fit with the Rays as a stopgap for Desmond Jennings.

I have seen the Rays interest Jeremy Reed tossed out by Buster Olney. I also think the Sox might be willing to do something with Brian Anderson.

Scratch that. I'm an idiot.

I wish Kenny Williams would look into this, we need another starter possibility. Danks, Floyd and Contreras as a 3,4,5 ain't good enough.

Maybe the Rockies could be a match, perhaps for Seth Smith or Cory Sullivan now that Podsednik has apparently made the team. The Rockies can't be happy with guys like Redman or Towers at the back end of the rotation.

I can also see the Giants possibly being interested but I really doubt the Rays would be willing to take on the salary of a Dave Roberts or Randy Winn. The youth movement in S.F. isn't in full force just yet, so this could be a move down the road after an injury or two, but not right now.

that might work welshleyarms...

The Royals do not have a surplus of outfielders and as a bunch of you mentioned they would be a terrible fit. Also they have way more problems than DeJesus who is an above average leadoff guy. also he is definitely signed to a friendly contract as well why would they want to get rid of him for one of two below average pitchers?

Please stop with the Matt Murton to any and every team imaginable rumors...this is the single reason that this site is considered Cub-centric. I'm sure he's a nice guy, and apparently visits this site but enough already. He's a slightly above average player that doesn't have the requisite power to be a corner outfielder...sounds perfect for the Giants if you ask me. Did i just? yes i did....darn you Matt Murton and your ability to fit in to any team!

I'm a big fan of Hammel, I think he'll be a good big league pitcher who just hasn't been able to establish himself yet. I wouldn't mind the Mets taking a look, perhaps we could part with one of our extra Lefty Outfielders like Endy Chavez. He's every bit as good as a Ryan Freel IMO.

“Maybe I'm personally a bit high on Murton, but I think he provides a better alternative for the Rays than in-house option Eric Hinske”

Hinske can back up 1B (which there is no back-up option there if Guzman is the starting 3B) and play either of the corner OF spots ~ plus even pick up the 3B glove in a dire-need situation. Murton is limited to LF really as his RF D is a bit questionable.

If the choice was between those two, and I wasn’t secure with my 3B (which the Rays are not) or have a back-up 1B otherwise (which the Rays don’t) then I think it’s a no brainier to take Hinske…

Glad to see Haynes get a shot. The dude can fly. What did the Angels get?

Best Guess: Trot Nixon ends up in a platoon with Gomes by next week. Nixon was sent down today and being Left-Handed he is a solid veteran compliment for the Rays RF platoon. Doubt Nixon accepts his assignment making him a Free Agent, so why trade for an OF when you can get one for a pennies on the dollar by signing Nixon.

Then the Rays can hold onto Hammel/Jackson while Kazmir heals allowing them more time to gauge which will be best to hold onto.

The primary reason he was in the minors forever and for the numbers quoted was due to knee injury(s). Haynes is good defensively with plus speed. That being said, his biggest attribute last year was in the clubhouse. He was the biggest reason for Figgin's surge in avg. A nice cheap pickup for the Rays.

Could he have helped the continuous groin problems of the chisox OF?

I'm not making the guy out to be an allstar or even in contention to start. He's a backup at best with good defensive skills and plus speed. That's it. Again, a nice cheap pickup for the rays.

There are 2 major problems Haynes has faced. One, he has been blocked for years, which is a recurring theme for the Angels. Two, the injuries really have hurt his chances. Additionally, he has little power and strikes out a lot, which makes him slot below Willits on the depth chart. His big pluses are speed and his positive influence over Figgins. I think this move makes sense to clear out space in the outfield.

"I don't think the Rays would want Murton. He's pretty much redundant with Gomes there."

This is quite, quite wrong. Gomes is a free swinging power hitter that is fairly hit or miss. Murton is a gap power hitter who will give you a pretty good amount of doubles, with 15-25 homers. He should bat higher than .280 but no higher than .310. He's definately the superior player to Gomes overall, although Gomes has far more power potential. I think Murton is pretty much a perfect fit for the Rays at this point, because he would give them a good OBP guy with solid power. And he could man the position for long enough until they deem Desmond Jennings ready for a shot at an everyday job.

The only problem with a Murton trade is that the Cubs would have no interest in Jackson or Hammel. The Cubs have enough starters in Zambrano, Lilly, Dempster, Hill, Marquis, Lieber and Marshall. They have no space on their roster for another fringe average starter to be the 8th starter on the depth chart. At this point they would need someone they can send down the minors. Thats why, as I've been saying all along, the Rays would likely ask for someone like Jeremy Hellickson, Jeff Niemann, Chris Mason or Eduardo Morlan. I would be shocked if Friedman would do that considering he already has Floyd, Ruggiano and Gomes.

You can tell the difference between Murton and Gomes by watching just one of Gomes's ABs. Everytime Gomes swings he's coming out of his shoes. He doesn't know how to swing the bat except in that "swingin' for the fences" way. Murton is more disciplined and looking to hit for AVG with only occasional power.

Doesn't make much sense to have a thread that pushes a player on another team and then spends half the time explaining why it doesn't make much sense.

murton doesnt have much value because other teams know the cubs want to move him and, well, hes not that good. also that comment about tomko surprising people? i will assume u havent seen tomko pitch. hes had 10 years in the show to surprise people and it hasnt happened yet. he will be watching baseball on tv by june. i cant believe hes actually getting another shot at a rotation, even if it is the royals. meche, bannister, grenke,hochevar, and davies sounds good. no tomko.

he isnt bad, just not that good. im guessing that line u put up is spring training numbers? wasnt it u who yesterday told me spring training doesnt matter? he certainly didnt do that in any big league extended stay. i dont thnik hes bad, just not that good.

Those OPS numbers are why Cubs fans make such a big deal about Murton. They see numbers like that, and say why the hell can't we find a way to use this guy c'mon he's posting better numbers (in terms of OBP/SLG/OPS) than a decent amount of the starters in the majors.

Fukudome is a lefty though and the only other lefty in the lineup is Felix Pie, so they really needed that quality lefthanded bat. And Fukudome is far more capable of producing the high OBP that the Cubs need.

If you don't think an .820 OPS is good enough for a starter than you should look at the guys that the Cards will be trotting out there, no offense. Murton would be a fantastic option for a team like the Rays, where he would get everyday at bats most likely.

I definately didnt put up any wrong stats. I know exactly how I'm using my statistics, its the basis for the majority of my arguments. Obviously I didnt look up the numbers for the Cardinal's outfielders, Ludwick and Ankiels numbers were better than I expected. I agree that Chris Duncan is a very good hitter though. But then again you were using pretty small sample sizes, only 300 at bats for Ludwick, and a paltry 172 for Ankiel. To expect Ankiel to bat .285 again seems pretty unfair.

And at this point I could care less what happens to Murton. I don't have a gay crush on him like many Cubs fans do. We got a superior, left handed hitter in Fukudome, something we sorely needed and I know he'll be better because by the accounts of scouts he will be, his Japanese numbers were fantastic (the Japanese League is essentially like AAAA, possibly better) and the track record for Japanese position players has been pretty good, you can go ahead and look.

i see what u did with murtons stats. u used his obp where i thought u used his average. that is confusing because most people put the average in the first spot but your right, u didnt misrepresent the stats. in that case my guys have even better looking numbers. 354, 339 and 328.

yes u r right about them having more money but the cards were the 06 champions. im not sure how that relates to anything but i figured it was worth mentioning. and i completely agree with the batting average on base comment. getting on base is getting on base. obviously a double or homer is better than a walk but thats what slugging percentage is for. sometimes when the guy is on second or third u need a hit and not a walk but u can look at rbi numbers and take into consideration the talent around the player. eckstein is a perfect example of your arguement. good average, crappy on base percentage(crappy defense too but besides the point).as a leadoff hitter u just need to get on base. i liked the little guys heart but he wont be missed, eventhough izturis wasnt really a good idea either.