Rays Ink Adam Kennedy To Minor League Deal

Solid signing for the Rays. Even though they don't really need him, he still adds more depth to the Ray's infield.

johns - What's wrong with Zobrist? Dude slugged .505 in just under 200 AB last year. I doubt Kennedy makes the team over Zobrist.

Ugh. Another good move by the Rays.

I almost want to become a Rays fan just because I can't imagine another team that's ran even remotely as well.

Kennedy gives them another option for the infield as well as additional depth for an infield that already has Willy Aybar as a backup.

One more thing though:

Could this possibly lead to an Akinori Iwamura trade?

With Aybar and Kennedy on the team, they already have two potential options at second base.

scribbletone

I hope to see a Aki deal, I love Aybars bat and the deal that is about to be official proves the Rays do also, he needs to start at 2B.

An Aki deal? Like the Rays need more prospects.

RaysFan, won't Hellickson be in AAA this year as well?? Jesus, the Rays are stacked. They could trade their major league roster right now and would still be set at every position.

Joyce will start off in AAA barring a raping in Spring, Friedman has said in so many words. If they can find a team to take Gross then Joyce should be in the majors. I think at least for the first month or 2, the Rays will be going with "The Gabe of the day"

bravesrule14

Hellickson will be in AAA in the 2nd half if he does great in AA just like he got a 2nd half call up from Single A after pitching like an ace.

Hopefully it will be 3 straight years. 2008 Price was a September call up, 09 will hopefully be Davis and 2010 should be Hellickson. Might be a bit til Barnese and Moore see the majors. Then we have McGee who is gonna probably return from injury as a RP and could be up in September of 09.

scribbletone - "I almost want to become a Rays fan just because I can't imagine another team that's ran even remotely as well."

Wow, what a change from just a couple years ago. Can anyone imagine that comment being said about the Rays during the days of Chuck Lamarr? The Rays certainly are a model for how to turn a franchise around.

"What's wrong with Zobrist? Dude slugged .505 in just under 200 AB last year. I doubt Kennedy makes the team over Zobrist."

While I like Zobrist as well, his power last year was a fluke.

His career ISO in the minors was just .141, despite being too old for each league he played in. You don't just whip out a .252 ISO in the majors after that kind of previous production.

Zobrist is a great bench guy, he's versatile, can get on base, and apparently has some pop as well, so I'd be surprised if he didn't make the team.

He'll probably be the fifth/sixth outfielder (with Crawford, Upton, Kapler, Gross and I guess Burrell if you still consider him an outfielder) as the backup infielder along with Aybar.

I'm really starting to think that Iwamura could be a trade candidate now.

They could give Aybar a shot at second, with Zobrist as the utility man and Kennedy backing up Aybar at second.

They just have so many damn pieces now. Ughhh.

"Wow, what a change from just a couple years ago. Can anyone imagine that comment being said about the Rays during the days of Chuck Lamarr? The Rays certainly are a model for how to turn a franchise around."

Seriously.

The Rays simply leave me in awe. This team went from bottom feeder to what looks like a perennial contender within a few years.

They've made some astonishingly prudent moves, in all facets of running a baseball team.

They've made great trades: Young for Garza/Bartlett, Hall/Hendrickson for Navarro/Seo/Ruggiano, Howell for Gathright.

They've made some great FA signings: Carlos Pena, Akinori Iwamura

And, they've done a fantastic job of locking up their young stars, guys like Shields, Longoria (his deal is a joke, it's so damn team friendly), and Kazmir.

If I was a Rays fan, I would have complete and total faith in every move that front office makes.

Friedman, Silverman and Hunsicker have done a simply exceptional job.

Hmmmmmm Another Ex-Angel signed by Maddon...Josh Paul,Troy Percival,1/2 his coaching staff...hmmmmmmmm

I just want everyone to look at this and tell it's not amazing.

Their rotation is currently:

Kazmir, Shields, Garza, Sonnanstine, and Price(probably)

In the minors they have Davis, Hellickson, Talbot, Barnese, AND Niemann. Plus McGee when he comes off the DL.

Think of the pieces they could get, because some of those pieces WILL have to go. That's just crazy.

Don't forget Scribble the Rays got Jackson from the Dodgers as well. And although he isn't there this year, he definitely contributed last year.

Also they got a pretty sweet deal in the Burrell deal. I was expecting Burrell to get at least Ibanezesque money, but instead the Rays signed him to a deal that could prove to be a very lucrative deal. I wouldn't be surprised to see Burrell's stats spike over the next two years.

"Don't forget Scribble the Rays got Jackson from the Dodgers as well. And although he isn't there this year, he definitely contributed last year."

The Rays landed Jackson from Los Angeles before the new management was put in place.

Danys Baez for Jackson and Chuck Tiffany.

One of the few good deals made by the previous regime, along with the Kazmir trade, among others.

Everyone gets it right once in a while.

And yeah, I thought the Burrell signing was simply another stroke of brilliance by that front office.

"I'm a little scared about the Cubbies' future, not to mention the White Sox as well. (YEAH. THAT'S RIGHT. THE CUB FAN ALSO HAPPENS TO ROOT FOR THE SOX. I was never raised to choose one over the other, because my parents didn't grow up in Chicago. I just love baseball, and the Chicago teams top my list. Followed by Tampa.)"

So, scribbletone, which team is in better shape going forward in your opinion?

Iwamura being traded is a possibility for the Rays, who now have many 2nd base options. However, if Iwamura is traded, who leads off for the Rays? Kennedy does have experience leading off, but he is definitely not the best option for doing so [he's more of a bottom of the lineup hitter or maybe even your #2 hitter if he returns to his old form with the Angels. Crawford could also lead off. I'm not quite sure he has experience leading off [he seems more like a #2/3 hitter to me.] Thoughts?

Swish for Paydirt,

Best bet for a leadoff hitter with the current configuration is BJ Upton. He's quick, he's patient, he has some power. Plus coming off his shoulder surgery, not being in an RBI-situation could help him keep it from being re-aggrivated quickly.

With Longoria, Pena, and Burrell most likely taking 3 4 and 5, the Rays lineup on a regular basis should look something like this:

Upton
Crawford
Longoria
Pena
Burrell
Iwamura
Kapler/Gross
Navarro
Bartlett

Thats R/L/R/L/R/L with your top 6. Not bad at all. Iwamura in the 6 hole could be a good spot for him to regain the power stroke he was supposed to have when he came here (he was a 30+ homerun guy in Japan...I know the parks are smaller, but still. Batting leadoff is a different mindset entirely.)

This would've totally shocked me a year ago, but I think the White Sox might be in the better long term position.

The Soriano, Zambrano, Dempster, Fukudome and Bradley contracts all really scare me, and we don't have the kind of elite farm system that'd make me feel better.

The work that Wilkens has done since taking over definitely makes me feel better, but there are a lot of questions about all of their best young players, with the exceptions being Soto and Marmol.

Meanwhile, I think the White Sox have actually done a decent job of setting themselves up long term. They don't have any horrible contracts, they shed the salaries of Dye, Thome and Contreras after 2009.

They have some nice young stars already on the team in Danks and Quentin, and other solid young guys like Alexei, Floyd, and some of the bullpen arms.

Plus, the White Sox have added some nice top young prospects over the past year. Poreda looks like a potential TOR starter, and otherwise I'd expect him to make for a good closer. Beckham, Viciedo, Flowers, Danks and Allen give the White Sox a group of talented young prospects that could form a good core.

My big issue with what the Cubs are doing is that they really seem to be giving themselves a limited period of time where they'll contend, because all those backloaded contracts should end up dragging this team down. Obviously Ricketts is going to put some cash into the team, that payroll will only get bigger, but I think that after 2010, it'll be interesting to see where the Cubs stand.

With the White Sox, I feel like it's more clear that they're trying to win in 2010 and beyond, while also fielding a contender this year.

I'm very much on the fence, but I'm leaning towards the Sox long term.

"You fans in Florida better appreciate your teams, because I'm honestly envious of all that young talent, and that comes from a fan of a team that won 97 games last year."

Scribbletone, I have been a Red Sox fan since the mid 60's, yet live here in Tampa for the past 20 years or so and can't help but get caught up in "Ray's Fever" myself.

It's almost a joy now to go to that dump stadium and watch games now with fans now actually cheering for the HOME team instead of whoever the opponent is!

Yeah you're right, that move was made by Silverman and Friedman.

My mistake.

God damn those two are good at building a baseball team.

Kennedy seems like a good pickup; but does anyone wonder why he was released outright by the Cards. Seems like the whole story isn't being told about this guy, especially after he sat on the market for a week or more with no takers. Being an O's fan, I can't wish him a lot of luck but no ill feelings either.