Tampa Bay Devil Rays Trade Possibilities

With the trade deadline looming on the horizon - I will try to take a look at what chips some of the teams who are out of playoff contention may put in play. Yesterday I did the Baltimore Orioles and today I will take a look what players from the Devil Rays may hit the market.

Rocco Baldelli - he is on the 60-day DL but should be coming off soon. Rocco is just 26-years old but would be a risk because of his injury history for any team trading for him. Baldelli's contract calls for him to be paid just $2.25 million next year so it may be worth it for Tampa Bay to wait and see if Baldelli comes back strong enough to up his trade value either for the off-season or next year's trade deadline. It is worth noting that with Ichiro staying put in Seattle - there will be a number of teams bidding for top centerfielders like Andruw Jones, Torii Hunter and Aaron Rowand. Either the teams that lose those players or who lose out in the bidding may look toward Baldelli as an attractive option.

Elijah Dukes - he is on the inactive list but I think everyone realizes that this guy needs to get the hell away from Tampa if he is to avoid self-destructing. The White Sox have been rumored to be interested in him. Personally - I wouldn't touch him with a ten-foot pole.

Ty Wiggington - he can play either 2nd or 3rd and has a relatively modest $2.7 million contract this year and will probably get about $4 million in arbitration next year. Wiggington has some pop in his bat (13 HR so far this year and 24 last season) and could be a fit for teams looking for some added offense (though with just a .318 OBP and only a .759 OPS - Wiggington doesn't fit my idea of offensive help).

Carlos Pena - having a huge year (20 HR and an OPS of 1.004) but is a free agent at the end of the year. The Devil Rays may want to sell Pena while his stock is so high. The Yankees have been rumored to be interested but you have to think that the Yankees at this point (with them out of the playoff picture and all) would be better off waiting till the offseason when signing a guy like Pena won't cost them a top prospect or two. Atlanta would seem like another logical destination but here again - you would think that a better solution for them than trading away some top prospects would be simply to try Jarrod Saltalamacchia at 1st. Detroit may be the best fit but that probably won't happen because they've been there and done that.

All-in-all I don't think Tampa Bay has much to offer this trade-deadline season. When you add in the fact that their front office always asks for the moon when negotiating - I just don't see any major deals coming via Tampa Bay. Sure there may be a relief pitcher that changes address but nothing major that will effect the playoff races.