On Thursday the Tampa Bay Rays acquired left fielder Corey Dickerson from the Colorado Rockies. A couple of months ago the team also struck the first trade of the offseason with the Seattle Mariners, which netted them shortstop Brad Miller, reliever Danny Farquhar and first baseman Logan Morrison.
The latest move for Dickerson crowds up the team's outfield and rumors suggest a trade could soon be on the way, especially since the Rays are always open to reducing payroll.
"Before adding Dickerson, the Rays seemed set with Desmond Jennings (seemingly healthy again after playing only 28 games last season) and Steven Souza Jr. on the outfield corners," writes Phil Rogers of MLB.com. "Both are X factors with high ceilings and low floors. The cast behind them includes Brandon Guyer, Mikie Mahtook, recently signed Steve Pearce (who may get most of his at-bats platooning with first baseman James Loney) and Minor League signee Jaff Decker.
"That's a lot of outfielders.
"But the Rays might be able to move one of them -- the 29-year-old Jennings, most likely -- to the White Sox or Rangers for an inexpensive reliever. They're saving about $4 million moving McGee to the Rockies. Jennings is set to earn $3.3 million."
Jennings is listed as the starting left fielder on the team's depth chart, but Dickerson will earn considerably less than the veteran, which makes Jennings a likely trade candidate. Additionally, the veteran has been hindered by injuries over the past two seasons and has played in only 151 games over that span. However, the 29-year-old could be a bargain at $3.3 million for other MLB clubs looking to add depth to their outfield (he's also under club control through 2017).
Speaking of depth, the Rays added to their arsenal at first base with the acquisition of Morrison earlier this offseason. The depth chart now shows Morrison, James Loney and Richie Shaffer as options at the position, and the recent signing of Steve Pearce further adds to that cast.
As a result, Loney could quickly become a trade candidate since he's set to earn $9.66 million in 2016, which is a considerable portion of the Rays' small payroll. The 31-year-old was productive in his first two seasons with the Rays, but last year he was limited due to injuries and hit just .280/.322/.357 with 25 runs scored, 4 home runs and 32 RBI in 104 games.
Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times says Loney could be "on the way out" due to the logjam at the position. Topkin also said Jennings could be a goner as well after talking with president of baseball operations Matt Silverman.
"Silverman acknowledged that if all stay healthy, 'we probably have one too many' and said trade talks remain 'active,'" Topkin wrote. "But he also said the Rays plan to take the current group to camp and see how it works out, knowing there are usually issues and they have extraordinary depth. If all are healthy, Loney seems most likely to go, and perhaps Jennings, who missed most of last season with a knee injury."
With more cost-effective players such as Dickerson, Kiermaier, Souza, Morrison, Pearce and Schaffer, it's a foregone conclusion the Rays are likely exploring deals involving Loney and/or Jennings. If they can't find a suitor before the 2016 season, they can perhaps wait until the trade deadline with hopes that one or both of them rebuild their value after down campaigns in 2015.
If not, one of them would probably be useful as a designated hitter, but in the meantime expect Silverman to exhaust all possibilities on the trade market.
