Joel Guzman (OF/SS?/3b?), TB - Trade (NL to AL)
July 31, 2006
News: Joel Guzman was traded to the Devil Rays in Monday's Julio Lugo deal.
Views: Guzman joins a crowded outfield, but he'll probably be moving back to the infield in the near future. Guzman was moved to the outfield when the Dodgers signed Rafael Furcal in the offseason, but came up as a shortstop. With B.J. Upton and Reid Brignac in the system, it's possible that Guzman will be moved elsewhere in the infield, as he'd have an uphill battle to crack the Rays' crowded outfield in the next few years.
Fantasy Baseball 
Interesting...guess I'll be watching that game.
I thought Upton was brought up to play SS and yet they have another prospect playing SS... I thought the only reason they moved Upton to 3B was because Huff got traded to Houston. What? I'm really confused.
Okay. Got that. Thanks.
Exactly. The Rays are planning on Upton being the 3rd baseman of the future and Zorbist the SS of the future. They're set in the outfield with Baldelli, Crawford, and Young/Dukes. Navarro shows promise behind the plate. What needs to happen now is ship guys like Wiggy and Travis Lee for pitching help. Casey Fossum shows promise but he's inconsistent. His last 2 starts are a perfect example of this. Against the Angels on July 26th Fossum pitched an inning and a third and gave up in the neighborhood of 7 runs. His start last night against the Tigers was a gem as he struck out 5 in a 7-3 Rays victory. If the Rays can get solid pitching from Fossum that could set up to be a nice 1-2 punch in Kaz and Fossum. JP Howell makes his debut tonight, maybe they can find lightning in a bottle.
I'm just rambling now. Typical of a hopeful Rays fan
Exactly. The Rays are planning on Upton being the 3rd baseman of the future and Zorbist the SS of the future. They're set in the outfield with Baldelli, Crawford, and Young/Dukes. Navarro shows promise behind the plate. What needs to happen now is ship guys like Wiggy and Travis Lee for pitching help. Casey Fossum shows promise but he's inconsistent. His last 2 starts are a perfect example of this. Against the Angels on July 26th Fossum pitched an inning and a third and gave up in the neighborhood of 7 runs. His start last night against the Tigers was a gem as he struck out 5 in a 7-3 Rays victory. If the Rays can get solid pitching from Fossum that could set up to be a nice 1-2 punch in Kaz and Fossum. JP Howell makes his debut tonight, maybe they can find lightning in a bottle.
I'm just rambling now. Typical of a hopeful Rays fan
When you think about what the D Rays will look like in 3 years, they could have an absolutely amazing lineup:
C Navarro
1B Guzman
2B Cantu
3B Longoria
SS Brignac
LF Dukes
CF Upton
RF Young
DH Crawford
Yeah, I left Baldelli out. This team has so much offensive talent it's a bit rediculous. Really, the only guy on that list that won't be ready at some point next year is Brignac. The way Longoria is going, he might pull a Zimmerman and start contributing in September. At the very least, he's a midseason callup next year.
This just hilights how the Rays really, really need pitching help. My guess is they'll try to move Gomes in the offseason for some pitching, then either Baldelli or Crawford in a couple years for more pitching. We're looking at the best offense in the majors in 2008 right there.
And all this comes from a non-Rays fan (who does happen to own Young, Dukes, Longoria, Brignac and Gomes on his fantasy keeper team)....
If Gomes could get healthy again, I would imagine he'd bring quite a bit of pitching. I still think the Twins would be a great trade partner, given the lack of OF depth in their system. A Kevin Slowey and Scott Baker for Jonny Gomes and Wes Bankston deal would make perfect sense for them.
If Gomes could get healthy again, I would imagine he'd bring quite a bit of pitching. I still think the Twins would be a great trade partner, given the lack of OF depth in their system. A Kevin Slowey and Scott Baker for Jonny Gomes and Wes Bankston deal would make perfect sense for them.
Doubtful MIN would do that though. They maxed at Slowey and Perkins for Carlos Lee and they have been notoriously outspoken against trading their pitching prospects.
If Gomes could get healthy again, I would imagine he'd bring quite a bit of pitching. I still think the Twins would be a great trade partner, given the lack of OF depth in their system. A Kevin Slowey and Scott Baker for Jonny Gomes and Wes Bankston deal would make perfect sense for them.
Doubtful MIN would do that though. They maxed at Slowey and Perkins for Carlos Lee and they have been notoriously outspoken against trading their pitching prospects.
Not saying Minny would do that... only that they SHOULD do it. A trade like that would benefit both teams. Minny would still keep Garza, Perkins, Swarzak and Durbin and get a very good but still cheap OF in return.
Florida would also make a good trade partner, though I would guess Sanchez and Johnson would be labelled "unavailable".
If Gomes could get healthy again, I would imagine he'd bring quite a bit of pitching. I still think the Twins would be a great trade partner, given the lack of OF depth in their system. A Kevin Slowey and Scott Baker for Jonny Gomes and Wes Bankston deal would make perfect sense for them.
Doubtful MIN would do that though. They maxed at Slowey and Perkins for Carlos Lee and they have been notoriously outspoken against trading their pitching prospects.
Not saying Minny would do that... only that they SHOULD do it. A trade like that would benefit both teams. Minny would still keep Garza, Perkins, Swarzak and Durbin and get a very good but still cheap OF in return.
Florida would also make a good trade partner, though I would guess Sanchez and Johnson would be labelled "unavailable".
gotcha
I'd tend to agree. Especially if you can take a hit in AVG as he's likely to struggle there as most rookies do.