2012 Tampa Bay Rays

[Morgan]

ST. PETERSBURG, FL—The Tampa Bay Rays have acquired shortstop Yunel Escobar from the Miami Marlins in exchange for minor league infielder Derek Dietrich.

Escobar, 30, was acquired by Miami on November 19 in a 12-player trade with the Toronto Blue Jays. In six major league seasons with the Atlanta Braves (2007-10) and Blue Jays (2010-12), he is a career .282 hitter with 53 home runs, 140 doubles and a .353 on-base percentage.

In 2012 with Toronto, Escobar batted .253 (141-for-558) with nine home runs and 51 RBI in a career-high 145 games, including 140 starts at shortstop. His .982 fielding percentage ranked fourth among major league shortstops, trailing only J.J. Hardy of the Baltimore Orioles, Jhonny Peralta of the Detroit Tigers and Brendan Ryan of the Seattle Mariners. The right-handed hitter is a native of Havana, Cuba.

Dietrich, 23, was named the Most Valuable Player for Class-A Charlotte in 2012 and finished the season with Double-A Montgomery following a July 28 promotion. For Charlotte, he batted .282 (105-for-372) with a team-leading 10 home runs and 58 RBI. A midseason Florida State League All-Star, he tied for third in the league with nine triples. In a combined 132 games at both levels he hit .279 (141-for-505) with 14 homers, 75 RBI, 28 doubles and 10 triples. Dietrich was recently named the No. 9 prospect in the Rays organization by Baseball America entering 2013. He was selected by the Rays in the second round of the 2010 June Draft.

[Biggs3535]

Escobar is a talented player, but he's also a guy who only plays when he wants to.  I was hoping not to have to watch any more of that crap this season.

[olafberserker]

lol

[Biggs3535]

http://espn.go.com/mlb/hotstove12/story/_/id/8712739/yunel-escobar-miami-marlins-traded-tampa-bay-rays

Beinfest said that when the Marlins obtained Escobar, he said he was willing to move to third base. Adeiny Hechavarria, also acquired from the Blue Jays, is slated for shortstop.

"He had a change of heart," Beinfest said.

I love the team-first attitude.

[Biggs3535]

lol

lol all you want, but that's the reason Atlanta shipped him to Toronto, Toronto shipped him to Miami, and now Miami has shipped him to Tampa.

Additon By Subtraction

A tiny example: On a Sunday afternoon earlier this season, Escobar drove a ball in the gap in left-center. His hit brought home the go-ahead run, but somehow he managed to get thrown out at second base on a ball so perfectly placed that it would have been a double for anybody else in the big leagues. (Put it this way: Sid Bream would have made it.)

Escobar got thrown out because he watched the flight of the ball and admired his work, as opposed to running hard. The Braves noticed. The Braves always noticed. As one man in the clubhouse said afterward, exasperation in his voice: “He has been told time and time again.”

The Braves trade Yunel Escobar...

We’ve talked about Escobar recently. The Braves have long been sour on him, and the sense is that Bobby Cox and others in the organization don’t much care for his demeanor, effort and the cut of his gib.  He’s a talented player, and has shown great ability with his bat and his glove at times in the past, but he is prone to simply disappearing on both sides of the ball for weeks on end. 2010 has been something of a disaster for him all around: no power, no on base skills and multiple fielding lapses.

Looking Back at the Yunel Escobar trade

The trade received mixed feelings among Braves fans, and still does, though the feelings of Bobby Cox and the front office were mutual. Fans still question the decision to trade a shortstop with a bright future just because he didn’t get along with the manager. When said manager is Bobby Cox—it carries a bit more weight. The fans didn’t question the unloading of Jo-Jo Reyes, though.

Yunel, however, was beloved among Braves fans. Whether it be his random pieces of art in the dirt, jumping in the air like a kid on a trampoline in the on-deck circle or firing rockets to first base —Yunel was fun to watch. Escobar has enjoyed success with Toronto, and I doubt that it comes as a surprise to many. He wasn’t let go due to lack of talent after all. It had everything to do with his attitude.

Escobar had distanced himself from the team, and it started to trickle into his on-field performances. Thus, the Braves did what they felt was necessary and shipped him to the Toronto Blue Jays, whose general manager, Alex Anthopoulos, is quickly earning a reputation for buying low on players who have fallen out of favor with their organization.

[BucBalla85]

Maybe Madden will be good for him.

[olafberserker]

that's not what I was lol'ing,  I could give a crap about Escobar.  Hope he gets right here in Tampa along with Loney.   

[Biggs3535]

Maybe Madden will be good for him.

I hope so.  One thing that should be pretty solid is the left side of the infield.  Longoria and Escobar are both top 5 at their position defensively.

[Biggs3535]

that's not what I was lol'ing

So what was it?

[The Anti-Java]

Josh Hamilton sure would look good in a Rays uni.

[-ts]

Josh Hamilton sure would look good in a Rays uni.

Pass.

That guy never deserves another cent from this team. I don't think I could ever welcome him back here.

Not too mention he is made of glass and is still battling his inner junkie.

[The Anti-Java]

Josh Hamilton sure would look good in a Rays uni.

Pass.

That guy never deserves another cent from this team. I don't think I could ever welcome him back here.

Not too mention he is made of glass and is still battling his inner junkie.

Dude has been clean for 7 years and 2 months.

There is a article in Wednesday's USA Today about him.  He wanted 7 years, 175mil.

But now realizes no one will pay that, so he is available to the highest bidder.

[olafberserker]

The Royals may be at a critical stage in the decision whether to trade top prospect Wil Myers for a starting pitcher such as the Rays' James Shields, tweet Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  Bob Dutton believes the Royals would not hesitate to trade Myers for Shields, but that it'd probably require more.
Read more at http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/#AprQKrQxmGT7ml60.99

[olafberserker]

J.P. Howell is a name to watch for the Brewers, as MLB.com's Adam McCalvy notes that GM Doug Melvin met with agent Greg Genske today at the Winter Meetings.  Genske's agency also represents free agents Edwin Jackson, Francisco Liriano, Brad Penny, and Joe Saunders.
"I don’t see this being one of our more active years at this point," Melvin told Haudricourt today.
The Cubs were in on Jeff Keppinger and Eric Chavez before they signed with the White Sox and Diamondbacks, respectively, GM Jed Hoyer told reporters.  The Cubs are seeking someone who can help at the hot corner.
Read more at http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/#AprQKrQxmGT7ml60.99

[olafberserker]

Yesterday we learned that Josh Hamilton will give the Rangers the opportunity to match any offer another club makes before he signs. Talks were said to progress between Hamilton and the Rangers, but Texas is also in on Zack Greinke, and it's highly unlikely they could sign both. As Hamilton works to determine where he'll play next year, we'll keep track of the latest rumors here...

    The Rangers won't go to five years for Hamilton, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
    The Rangers met with Hamilton's agent Tuesday night but nothing has changed, GM Jon Daniels told reporters including Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
    We learned earlier that the Red Sox met with Hamilton before he left Nashville.  It was an off-site meeting on Monday, tweets Dan Roche of WBZ.

Earlier updates:

    The Mariners continue to have interest in Hamilton, but like the other teams involved, they prefer a shorter-term deal, tweets Jon Heyman.
    The Rangers are being patient on Hamilton, waiting to hear if it will take more than something like three years and $75MM to sign him, writes Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
    The Rangers' discussions with Hamilton are "on hold" at the moment, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com, who suggests the team's involvement on Greinke may be the reason for the delay.
    Most baseball people believe Hamilton will end up signing for five years or less, with some clubs exploring vesting options to protect themselves, says Heyman. He names the Mariners, Red Sox, Phillies and Brewers as teams besides the Rangers that have shown interest in the outfielder.

Read more at http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/#AprQKrQxmGT7ml60.99