While you can never have too much pitching, the Rays are fortunate enough to have nearly 8 major league calibre starting pitchers. And according to Marc Topkin, if the Rays plan on moving any of them it’s likely that Niemann or Davis will be traded. With very few starting pitchers available in free agency who are better than Niemann or Davis, the Rays should be able to move them for something of significant value.
The Rays could use their pitching depth to improve their offence, which ranked 8th in the AL last season. They got virtually no production out of their first basemen last year, as Tampa’s 1B ranked 13th in the AL with a 745 OPS. Their DH production was a nearly identical 744 OPS, so it’s clear the Rays have some room for improvement. Flipping one of their starters for a big bat would go a long way towards helping them make their fourth playoff appearance in five seasons.
Another spot they could upgrade is SS, where Reid Brignac showed he was completely ov...
Found December 14, 2011 on
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