With so many teams now in Florida for Spring Training, let's check on one of the teams that calls the Sunshine State home year-round…
- Wade Davis wasn't pleased about the possibility of pitching out of the bullpen this season, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. "I don't see any reason for me to be in the bullpen," Davis said. "I understand they've got to do certain things, but we'll see. … I definitely want to be a starter and stay a starter forever. And that'll be my mentality." Davis and Jeff Niemann will be battling to be Tampa Bay's fifth starter, with the other becoming a reliever. As Topkin points out, there's little Davis could do if he is assigned a relief gig, as "he wouldn't have much leverage to force a trade."
- ESPN's Buster Olney hears from some scouts that Davis is "much better suited" as a relief pitcher and "could actually be pretty good at that job."
- Between Davis, Niemann and prospects Alex Torres and Alex Cobb, the Rays like their pitching depth and want to hang onto it, executive VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told media (including Topkin) on Monday. Friedman did say that the Rays would "be aggressive in trying to improve [the] roster."
- Niemann didn't seem too upset over losing his arbitration case to the Rays earlier this month. “I considered it a win-win situation going in,” Niemann told Roger Mooney of TBO.com. “Certain circumstances got us to that point. We did it, went through it, got the experience. Now I’m ready to go out there and play."
Wade Davis should probably go to the bullpen. Davis was more inconsistent than Niemann was. Niemann actually looked pretty good at the end of the season. Davis gave up too many home runs, and it seemed like every time I watched Davis pitch, I was always biting my nails.
Davis lacks a put away pitch, which in the AL East is a nail in the coffin for a starter.
trade him to the angels for trumbo
angels really dont have a need for davis while trumbo is a viable hot trade piece alah yonder alonso and thus the angels can use him at deadline to put finishing touches on playoff team…just a thought
also rays seem to take a liking to good defensive first basemen which has helped hide some defensive flaws over the yrs..part of their winning formula and trumbo isnt gonna blow ya away with defense
Carlos Pena isn’t too bad in the glove and power dept either and have a feeling he kind of wants to finish his career at TB now. he can’t hit for squat, other than for power, but that and his glove alone is worth 6-8m.
problem is rays have davis on a longterm contract thats favorable to the team in the long run so they really dont have to move him as the writer said. davis has little leverage which sucks for him cuz i think hed be a pretty solid pitcher on another team but on the rays hes a luxury or borderline starter which is great for us. i think rays are gonna wait and then trade him if a strong offer comes along. i just wish they built up some hype around him like billy beane does about his pitchers that rarely do anygood elsewhere..the exception being tim hudson and dan haren… a good solid reliever and or a solid defensive/power outfielder or maybe a legit longterm first basemen would be nice…i have a feeling juan miranda will put it together and push for atbats
It will be very interesting to see how the Angels’ situtation with Trumbo/Morales plays out. Both of them are great fits for the Rays at 1B long term.
don’t know what to tell you, wade. the rays’ standards are higher than yours
consider adopting niemann’s attitude: “however things turn out, i am still a millionaire who plays baseball for a living”
Nobody’s put Wade in the bullpen yet. Let the competition sort it out. Personally I think he’ll be traded. There’s Cobb and Torres in the mix as well. Man, the Rays sure have the pitchers.
It would be really nice to deal Davis for an upgrade at shortstop or everyday catcher. With Keppinger in the mix now, I would think they would go for a catcher over a shortstop.
Davis/Farnsworth/Perralta/Rodney/Lueke/Badenhop/McGee/Gomes/Ramos makes for a pretty good looking bullpen. Just dump JP Howell and we’ll be good to go.
I think Davis due for a breakout this year or next. Nieman is under team control for less time. I would like to see a trade for Morales if the price is right and he shows he is healthy. I don’t know if any of you know but did the Canzler trade make sense to anyone? Could we have got more money for him at least. Seems like we could of let Pena ,as much as I like him, go to the Indians, signed Damon to a minor league deal with invite, and let this guy have a chance. Just wondering what everyones take on this is.
The Canzler trade made sense to me. He wouldn’t make our roster so at least we got 100k for him. We can’t settle for “ifs” when dealing with power. Pena is a sure thing to get 30 HRs if he stays healthy
I think the Rays signed Davis to a long-term contract thinking that he would improve or at least maintain about the same era. Instead, his era approaches numbers that indicate that he needs to put on a short leash. He has gone on the disabled list several times showing that he is fragile and needs to be put on the short list. His contract would look appealing if his era wasn’t so awful. He doesn’t have good trade value at this point for he doesn’t show promise in several areas. The Rays put a reliever in a position to succeed and gain value. Reminds me of the BJ Upton situation when he was adamant about playing shortstop and had a lot of potential but often disappointed. I wanted to be the president of the united states but they gave it to someone older. My parents told me I either needed to find a job or move out. Life isn’t always fair.
Although Davis isn’t the best pitcher in the world he is a decent #4 or #5 pitcher on alot of clubs, just not the Rays unless he can nail down the #5 with a strong spring. Teams already thin on starting pitching would love to have him and the Rays could pull off a good trade if it suits them. They have the leverage with their abundance of quality arms. I think Davis has good trade value.
That kid Cobb is flying under the radar, and he’s no slouch. Thats one heck of a staff. Yanks and Sox got their work cut out for them. They have the best staff in the AL East.
Best staff in the AL and VERY close to best staff in the majors
the thing with davis was that he couldn’t really start the game off well. he would blow up in the first inning. however after that he could slam the door shut. he’s a great pitcher, just not for the first inning.