Bradford traded to Tampa Bay for player to be named later

[Sports Guy]

I'm going to go on record as saying this is more than a salary dump.

There it is. On record.

I think we're getting something useful back, and I think the Rays may have overvalued Bradford (in part based on his ERA).

I am almost in agreement here...but the 3.5 million next year causes me to not "make it official" yet.

[Fan4Life]

I'd be surprised if anyone more than a Scott Moore-type prospect. This has salary dump written all over it. Now if someone would just claim Jamie Walker we'd be gold.

Well considering we have to wait to receive the compensation would give an indication he's on the 40 man roster, correct? If he wasn't, what might be another reason not to just send some guy they aren't going to miss to us now?

[scOtt]

I can't believe he got all the way to the Rays, that is really surprising to me. A guy who always has a good ERA and against who it takes two or three baserunners in an inning to score a run...I'll miss his reliability, big time!

Good luck Chad!

The claiming order would be on last year's record, right?

[Tony-OH]

I'm a big Randor Bierd fan (and Tony-OH too, for that matter), but southpaws are hitting .342 off him.

Anyway, good luck to Bradford and thanks for the memories. He served the team well, but I'm not crying to see him go. When the Mets let him walk, they did so in part because they felt he loses effectiveness the more he's seen around the league. I think there's something to that, thought I wish him nothing but success against teams not named the Orioles.

I knew someone would catch me on that before I was able to edit.

From what I understand, Bierd has gotten lefties out effectively in the minors so I'm hoping the poor numbers in the majors are due to a small sample size. With his changeup, he should have some success against lefties.

[Tony-OH]

Well considering we have to wait to receive the compensation would give an indication he's on the 40 man roster, correct? If he wasn't, what might be another reason not to just send some guy they aren't going to miss to us now?

Because this was a waiver claim, a lot of time a list of players will be agreed to but they make it a player to be named later in order to give the new organization time to fully scout the players over the next few weeks before picking.

[TGO]

The claiming order would be on last year's record, right?

No, this year's. Last year's is only used early in the season.

[Sports Guy]

Because this was a waiver claim, a lot of time a list of players will be agreed to but they make it a player to be named later in order to give the new organization time to fully scout the players over the next few weeks before picking.

Or the player is currently on their 40 man.

[Greg Pappas]

This is a preseason look at the TB Rays top 20 prospects by John Sickels, and reviewed just last month. Again, this is not the updated list, but a review of the 'old' January list.

I bolded the players that seem like good and fair matches.

1) Evan Longoria, 3B, Grade A

Hitting .272/.345/.522 with 18 homers for the Rays. Rookie of the Year candidate.

2) David Price, LHP, Grade A

8-0, 1.92 between A-ball and Double-A with 62/17 K/BB in 66 innings. Assuming he stays healthy, he's terrific.

3) Jacob McGee, LHP, Grade A

Blew out elbow, had Tommy John surgery.

4) Wade Davis, RHP, Grade B+

3.85 ERA with 81/42 K/BB in 108 innings in Double-A. Just promoted to Triple-a, threw well in first start. Command has been a bit of at times but overall he's doing pretty well.

5) Reid Brignac, SS, Grade B+

HItting .266/.315/.424 for Triple-A Durham. Is he ever REALLY going to break out? Still just 22.

6) Jeremy Hellickson, RHP, Grade B+

2.00 ERA with 83/5 K/BB in 77 innings in A-ball, then 4.88 ERA in five Double-A starts but with a 20/3 K/BB in 28 innings. Outstanding command, good stuff, I think he will adjust.

7) Desmond Jennings, OF, Grade B+

Out for the year with shoulder problems.

8) Jeff Niemann, RHP, Grade B

7-3, 3.33 with 80/30 K/BB in 84 innings in Triple-A, 65 hits allowed. Still looks like an inning-eater type to me.

9) Eduardo Morlan, RHP, Grade B

Limited to 23 innings in Double-A by some early season injuries, but has a 3.09 ERA and a 19/6 K/BB. Still a nice bullpen prospect.

10) John Jaso, C, Grade B

Hitting .271/.408/.405 for Double-A Montgomery, repeating the league but with wosre performance than last year. Excellent strike zone judgment.

11) Ryan Royster, OF, Grade B-

.257/.300/.356 for Vero Beach. Poor plate discipline has prevented him from building on 2007 success, stock has dropped.

12) Chris Mason, RHP, Grade B-

6.47 ERA with 77/31 K/BB for Triple-A Durham, 119 hits in 89 innings and 18 homers allowed. Way too hittable, has been unable to adjust to Triple-A competition.

13) Nick Barnese, RHP, Grade B-

Looking good in the New York-Penn League so far: 1.57 ERA with 41/11 K/BB in 34 innings, 26 hits allowed. Stock on the rise.

14) Mitch Talbot, RHP, Grade C+

4.47 ERA with 94/19 K/BB in 117 innings for Durham, 124 hits allowed. Nice K/BB ratio, could still be an inning-eater type though not dominant.

15) Heath Rollins, RHP, Grade C+

3.28 ERA with 103/22 K/BB in 113 innings for Vero Beach, 96 hits allowed. Pitching well, but needs to be given a chance at higher levels before we know exactly how good he is.

16) Glenn Gibson, LHP, Grade C+

7.44 ERA with 49/41 K/BB in 79 innings for Columbus in the Sally League, 104 hits allowed. All ratios have completely collapsed compared to his strong short-season performance last year. I have to wonder if he is healthy.

17) Fernando Perez, OF, Grade C+

Hitting .287/.361/.398 with 30 steals for Durham. Impressive speed and defensive skills, some pop, strikes out a lot but will also take a walk. Would be a fine fourth outfielder.

18) James Houser, LHP, Grade C+

3.03 ERA with 69/34 K/BB in 86 innings, 66 hits allowed for Double-A Montgomery. Holding his own, needs a promotion to Triple-A to test his skills as he is repeating the league.

19) Justin Ruggiano, OF, Grade C+

.305/.365/.506 with 18 steals for Durham. I know scouts still don't seem to like him much and he's 26, but c'mon, this guy needs a shot somewhere.

20) Sergio Pedroza, OF, Grade C+

.262/.349/.371 for Montgomery. Hasn't been able to hit Double-A pitching for the same kind of power he showed in the lower minors.

Injury attrition has claimed the very promising Desmond Jennings and Jacob McGee, but the Rays have such strong system depth that they can compensate. Hopefully Price's early season arm woes will not recur. I'm starting to wonder about Brignac, if he will ever live up to his complete potential, though again he is still very young.

[SYCO'sFan]

Glad to here Bradford actually gets to pitch for a contender now good for him....not expecting anything really back from the rays whatever they give us would be a bonus IMO

[Fan4Life]

Because this was a waiver claim, a lot of time a list of players will be agreed to but they make it a player to be named later in order to give the new organization time to fully scout the players over the next few weeks before picking.

In that regard, that would appear to be more of a salary dump in that why would we agree to trade for some list of players we know nothing about, right?

[Fairfax Bird]

It's not going to be Brignac. Probably a 40 man player who didn't clear waivers. Think Adam Stern.

[jamesenoch]

Got this from the wikipedia website. Hope it helps with trying to figure out the waiver process.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_League_Baseball_transactions

Any player under contract may be placed on waivers at any time. If a player is waived, any team may claim him. If more than one team claims the player from waivers, the team with the weakest record in the player's league gets preference. If no team in the player's league claims him, the claiming team with the weakest record in the other league gets preference. In the first month of the season, preference is determined using the previous year's standings.

If a team claims a player off waivers and has the viable claim as described above, his current team (the "waiving team") may choose one of the following options:

arrange a trade with the claiming team for that player within two business days of the claim; or

rescind the request and keep the player on its major league roster, effectively canceling the waiver; or

do nothing and allow the claiming team to (1) assume the player's existing contract, (2) pay the waiving team a waiver fee, and (3) place the player on its active major league roster.

If a player is claimed and the waiving team exercises its rescission option, the waiving team may not use the option again for that player in that season. If no team claims a player from waivers in three business days, the player has cleared waivers and may be assigned to a minor league team, traded, or released outright.

The waiver "wire" is a secret within the personnel of the Major League Baseball clubs; no announcement of a waiver is made until a transaction actually occurs. Many players are often quietly waived during the August "waiver-required" trading period to gauge trade interest in a particular player. Usually, when the player is claimed, the waiving team will rescind the waiver to avoid losing the player unless a trade can be worked out with the claiming team.

[McNulty]

19) Justin Ruggiano, OF, Grade C+

.305/.365/.506 with 18 steals for Durham. I know scouts still don't seem to like him much and he's 26, but c'mon, this guy needs a shot somewhere.

I like this guy, and I saw him play when he was in the Dodgers farm system quite a bit. Pitching is probably the way to go here, but this position prospect for Bradford isn't all that bad.

[TonySoprano]

Now if someone would just claim Jamie Walker we'd be gold.

Or get him back in the studio with Bono.

<img src=http://img.timeinc.net/time/daily/2006/0609/edge0916.jpg></img>

[Tony-OH]

In that regard, that would appear to be more of a salary dump in that why would we agree to trade for some list of players we know nothing about, right?

It doesn't mean we know nothing about the players on the list, it just means it will give us more time to evaluate them more thoroughly.

If this is the situation, the Orioles have probably sent a scout or two down to look at some players and then MacPhail will make a final selection.

Again, this is just a possibility. The player could be a 40-man guy that still needs to be moved through waivers, but I would be willing to guess it the former.