I know Maddon did an admirable job last year with Upton and his occasional lack of effort, but this might be a bit much. Apparently, during the Winter Meetings, the Rays have talked with Milton Bradley, Jason Giambi and, get this, Delmon Young!
Let's break down each of these...
Milton Bradley is a career .280 hitter with 6 teams in 11 seasons. He has long had anger management issues, but during a lunch with the Rays this past week, Maddon feels as if he has outgrown and was quoted as saying "people grow up, people change." Last year was his 1st season as an all-star, but his splits for the season showed a major drop-off in the 2nd half of the season due primarily to an injury. He could certainly shore up the DH and RF spots, but to be honest, he could probably explode at any minute. My take -
PASS.
Giambi posted pretty good power numbers last year with a low batting average of only .247. Then again, oddly enough, Pena only hit .247 as well. His average has been in decline, but the power has stayed fairly consistent regarding homers and RBI's. For some reason I have always liked Giambi and feel like he might have another season or 2 in him. He is dependable in the DH spot and would be able to fill in for Pena here and there at 1B. Of course, the steroid allegations are going to follow him wherever he goes, but I believe he's a good guy. In fact, I met him once at a Chili's in Tampa, he was very cordial to my family. My take -
Risky, but make a low offer and see if he takes it.
Delmon Young - This is really an interesting one. The guys has some character issues and was occasionally disruptive. I thought that was one of the reason's why they jettisoned him to the Twins last year? That deal was a big one for the Rays as they got Jason Bartlett and Matt Garza out of it. Sure, Delmon hit .290 last season, but for a guy that played in 152 games, he only hit 10 HR's with 69 RBI's. The rumor is that the Twins are not looking for starting pitching and a 3rd team would have to be involved, possibly the Rockies. The Rays would send either Edwin Jackson or Andy Sonnanstine to the Rockets, who would send 3rd baseman Garrett Atkins to the Twins and send Young back to Tampa. The upside here is still pretty high, but here's my take -
Only do this if you can guarantee I won't look back years from now and analyze the trade based on the combination of both deals. What I mean is, I don't want Delmon to stink it up and then say it was basically a deal where we lost Sonnanstine or Jackson for Garza and Bartlett, catch my drift?
Now, here's my suggestion for the Rays...
GO AFTER BARRY BONDS! That's right, I said it, go sign Barry Bonds. If you are willing to bring one or more of the 3 above into the fold, why not go get the most feared slugger of our era. Steroids or not, the guys is an on base machine and would be more than willing to DH if any team would just sign him to a deal. He said last year he would play for the league minimum and donate a substantial portion to charity. The guy doesn't want money, I don't think he cares about any more records, he wants a ring. He has had a few lengthy layoffs with the knee injury from 2005 where he only played 14 games then not playing at all last year. He turns 45 in July, but for some reason, I think he could post stats from the DH position that would blow away the guys listed above. Plus, think of the opportunities to drive in runs if he is always on base ahead of Pena, Longoria, etc. Lastly, Friedman and Maddon would have him sign a clause or something in his contract that doesn't allow big comfy recliners in the locker room. My Take -
take a flyer and see what happens, it would probably be cheaper than any of the 3 above and would put more butts in the seats!Until next time,
- Steve
Happy Thanksgiving!
