Sad Day For Rays Fans

With the baseball winter meetings coming to an end today the Tampa Bay Rays have lost some big players. First baseman, free agent  Carlos Pena signed a 1 year, $10 million contract with the Chicago Cubs and AL East rivals the Boston Red Sox have signed left fielder Carl Crawford to a 7 year $142 million contract. Drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 1999 as a second round drat pick, Crawford’s contract with Boston makes him the 2nd highest paid outfielder in MLB history. In November the Rays lost pitcher Joaquin Benoit to the Detroit Tigers.
Shortstop Jason Bartlett is rumored to be on the trading block to the San Diego Padres for two of their relief-pitchers, Adam Russell and Cesar Ramos but while news organizations have been reporting on the trade since Wednesday, the Rays have come out with a statement saying the trade-rumors are pre-mature.
Another lingering rumor out there is that pitcher Matt Garza who pitched the Rays first no-hitter in history last season may be joining Pena with the Cubs. We’ll have to wait and see how this one is going to play out.

With Rays owner Stu Sternberg saying they’ll be cutting their payroll for the 2011 season, the organization is going to have to rely on strong trades to boost their roster.