@Enrique_Rojas1: Deal done between Fernando Rodney and #Rays. Rodney get $1,75 million in 2012, $2.5 million option in 2013 and 250K buyout

I’d expect the career reliever to either serve in a setup role, possibly even just middle relief. Rodney throws hard and gets a lot of groundball outs but gives up way too many runs for a contender like the Rays to hand over their closer role.

Yes, in 2009 he was pretty successful with the Detroit Tigers by saving 37 games but even then he had an ERA of 4.40. That’s not something you want from your closer, it’s even worse when you realize his career ERA is 4.29. He’s best suited to be a supporting member of the bullpen.

Regardless, I like the signing for the Rays. The price tag isn’t that high on they’re only on the hook for one full season. If he doesn’t work out that’s fine. If he does well the Rays bullpen is that much deeper.

Free-agent catcher Jose Molina is close to signing a one-year contract with the Tampa Bay Rays that includes an option for the 2013 season, major-league sources told FOXSports.com. A deal could be completed within the next several days. (Jon Paul Morosi – FOX Sports)

Personally, I think Molina would be a great addition to the Rays if they can seal the deal. He can give them about 50 so games a year and help in the development of a young pitching staff as he’s a great game caller. I’m sure he’ll be a great mentor on the bench with those guys as well.

He’ll never give them much at the plate no matter what anyone tells you. Yes, in 2011 he batted .281 but that was his second highest average of his career. His career average is a mere .241.

Molina will never be counted on to hit though, his purpose in Tampa will be to call a great game and help grow their young pitchers. Solid bench move for the Rays.

Wallach had a solid career as a player and has been pretty impressive so far as a coach / manager.

- Over 17 seasons, he batted .257 with 260 homers and 1125 rbis, he also had 432 doubles. His numbers would have been better but he played for about six seasons longer then he should have, as he had a steep drop in production after the age of 32.
- He’s won two gold glove awards, two silver sluggers and finished top 10 in MVP voting twice (once finishing fourth).
- He was the 2010 Pacific Coast League Manager of the Year after coaching the Albuquerque Dodgers (Los Angeles Triple-A affiliate)
- In 2011, he was the Los Angeles Dodgers third base coach.

Sounds like a guy who knows what he’s doing, much more then the guy the Chicago White Sox just hired to fill their position.

The Red Sox are also considering others, they include:
Philadelphia Phillies bench coach Pete Mackanin
Tampa Bay Rays bench coach Dave Martinez
Cleveland Indians third base coach Sandy Alomar Jr
Milwaukee Brewers hitting coach Dale Sveum

While there are no big names amongst the group it is a solid group of candidates as they’re all former big league ball players who had mild success. They’ve also got solid coaching experience with teams that have been in pressure situations.

If I had to choose one out of the group I’d go with Alomar Jr, even with the success Wallach has had as a manager. He’s a baseball lifer thanks to his bloodlines and with him being a catcher he’s seen the game from a perspective no other candidate has. He in my opinion was also the most successful of the group as a player.

@Jen_Royle: Source: Friedman & Amaro are trying to work out a deal for BJ Upton… Nats interest still high. #Rays #Phillies

The rumors are just going to keep growing over the next couple days, especially after Upton’s day off Sunday afternoon. Personally, I’m not too sure how seriously to take this one as it’s not a beat writer in either of the two involved markets or a mainstream writer. Royle could be correct just seems out of place coming out of Baltimore.

Now after saying that, I wouldn’t be surprised if Amaro is actually trying to work out a deal. Upton is a much cheaper option compared to Carlos Beltran and would be under team control through 2012. Even more of a reason is that I think Upton is tailor made for Citizens Bank Park.

Yes, his average is a horrendous .229 but he’s never been much of an average hitter. Despite his low average, he still has a .310 on base percentage thanks to his 41 walks, which has led to 23 stolen bases. He’s stolen 40+ in each of the last three seasons and should do so again in 2011 as long as he keeps getting the playing time.

What he is a speed demon who has a pretty sweet power stroke and that power stroke is what the Phillies have to be eying. Upton has 15 homeruns in 2011, which ranks him #18 in the American League, not bad for a guy whose best asset is his speed. Power numbers like that will only rise if he made the move from Tropicana Field to the Bank.

The question thou is how much should the Phillies give up in a deal? Upton’s got lots of talent and will be entering his prime years soon but he also has glaring holes in his game. He can’t hit for average and does strikeout a lot, averages more then one per game. Do you give up top level talent for a player like that?

“That door is open for a number of different reasons,” Soriano’s agent, Scott Boras, told ESPNNewYork.com.

“I don’t think there is a team in baseball where he could be asked to be a setup guy other than the Yankees,” Boras said.

“It is a different scenario … There is also a value in playing with Mariano Rivera,” Boras said.

Boras is right there a number of reasons why Soriano would consider the Yankees, even if he weren’t going to get the opportunity to close. I’d say the reasons are eight digits long. For those of you who don’t get it, i mean $xx,xxx,xxx per year.

Soriano has some very high demands this off season and who can blame him. He was phenomenal in 2010, his first full season as a closer, saving 45 games in 64 appearances with a 1.73 ERA. He was arguably the leagues best closer and wants to be paid like one.

Unfortunately for him those numbers, combined with those demands aren’t getting him much attention. You’ve got the Yankees obviously involved as well as the Chicago White Sox. The Texas Rangers have bowed out since signing Adrian Beltre and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, well are showing they don’t want to spend ANY money this year.

So basically that leaves the Yankees and White Sox, I’d lean towards the Yankees to if I was Soriano.

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Scott Boras, says there is value in playing with Mariano Rivera. That is partially true, Boras tells ESPN NewYork that learning from the greatest closer in history would be huge for Soriano and his career. Apparently that opportunity is one of the things the pitcher finds appealing.

I think the thing he finds most appealing (outside of the money) is that the Yankees are still searching for Mo’s replacement. Yes, Rivera signed a two-year contract but who knows how long he’ll be effective. Personally, I think they’ll be no drop off this year but who knows, he is 41 years old.

Soriano himself is only 31 years old and is young enough that he could be the heir to the throne. If Mo plays out his contract, Soriano would be 33 and have plenty of years left in his arm.

At that point, he could take over the closing duties for the biggest named team in baseball which would mean even more dollars on his next contract. That would be the main appeal of playing with Rivera, the prestige and the money that comes with closing for the New York Yankees.

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One other problem in signing of Soriano, is that he is a Type A free agent so the signing team has to give up their first round draft pick. If any team was willing to pay a reliever eight figures and give up the pick would be the Yankees.

After losing out on Cliff Lee the Yankees needed to do something. GM Brian Cashman preached patience but if he loses Andy he MUST do something. Signing Soriano would give the Yankees an unmatchable 8th/9th inning combo in the bullpen which should help out a mediocre bullpen and a young starting rotation.

I’m assuming Rafael winds up signing with the Yankees sometime within the next week.

@Sean_McAdam: Former #RedSox reliever Manny Delcarmen has interest from a handful of clubs, including two in the A.L. East; Sox not one of them.

Personally, I’ve always thought Delcarmen was vastly overrated but hey that happens to most players that play for the Red Sox or the New York Yankees. Over his career, Manny is 11-8 with a 3.98 ERA over 298 relief appearances. Yea, I know those numbers are pretty good but his career has been a Jekyll and Hyde type story.

Here’s what I mean.

2006 – 50 appearances, 5.06 ERA
2007 – 44 appearances, 2.05 ERA
2008 – 73 appearances, 3.27 ERA
2009 – 64 appearances, 4.53 ERA
2010 – 57 appearances, 4.99 ERA

Now do you get the picture? Lately, he’s just been your average to below average middle relief pitcher. Because of that I’m not sure if he’s gaining interest from the top teams in the league. I highly doubt the Sox or Yankees are considering him, they’ve got better pitchers they’re considering.

If I had to guess the two AL East teams showing interest would be the Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays. His familiarity with the division could help both teams as they try to keep up with the class leaders.

The first option looks like its Jose Contreras. Stark says that the team has been most aggressive in their pursuit of Contreras, more so then resigning Werth. This doesn’t surprise me as Contreras would come cheap and actually thrived in Philadelphia last season. I can’t believe I’m saying that. I love making jokes about Jose but he actually was impressive in his first full season in the bullpen. Jose struck out 57 batters in 56 2/3 innings, with a 3.34 ERA and only five homeruns allowed.

Stark says that general manager Ruben Amaro Jr won’t confirm any interests. “We’ve made contact with 40 free agents, predominantly bullpen guys.” Amaro also said: “Left-handed relief is a priority for us.”

They’ve made contact with 40 free agents already??? That number is astonishing but makes sense, what doesn’t make total sense is that left-handed relief is their priority.

Yes, the team lacked a second left handed option out of the pen last year. Yes, the team has no options now that J.C. Romero has hit free agency but they’ve also let Contreras and Chad Durbin hit the market.

Which would mean they have holes up and down that whole bullpen. In my opinion, their bullpen is now just Ryan Madson and Brad Lidge which means they need righties and lefties equally. There is plenty of both around, Lefty Pedro Feliciano has been a popular name thrown around but Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio put an intriguing option out there today and that was Joaquin Benoit, formerly of the Tampa Bay Rays.

@JimBowdenXMFOX: Phillies pursuit of Joaquin Benoit serious according to club sources

Benoit would be an amazing addition to the Phillies ‘pen, adding him would essentially make most games a six inning contest. Joaquin was very impressive after missing all of 2009 due to injury, sporting a 1.34 ERA over 60 1/3 innings while striking out 75 batters. Those numbers are very good, even more so when you consider he pitched in the American League East.

Unfortunately his price tag may be a little high for the Phillies with the amount of work they have to do. If they decided to go that route he would be a great addition, but they’d probably have to go with more unknowns to round out the bullpen.

Bowden’s tweet today does do one thing for me, it confirms Starks’ comments about the Phillies focusing more on relief pitching then resigning Jayson Werth. It’s somewhat surprising to me after how their offense flopped in the 2010 playoffs but its nice to see that Amaro is finally looking to address the unit that has been the Phillies weakness throughout their quest to be a dynasty.

“Obviously we’re thrilled to add Rocco and his experience and what he can bring to our young players,” Vice President Andrew Friedman said. “We think he’ll be a tremendous asset for us. And he looks better in blue.”

While Baldelli is taking a role as an assistant he doesn’t plan on retiring from the game just yet. There was rumored to plenty of interest in the outfielder this offseason but no deal materialized. It’s most likely because of his injury history and his current shoulder issue which he suffered in the second half of the 2009 season. “”I do have a shoulder issue that I’m dealing with right now,” he said. “It’s something … I need to address it, just because I don’t want to walk around in pain any more. It’s something that affects my ability to play, so it’s something that I have to take care.”

It’s really unfortunate that this once promising prospects career has been hampered by injury after injury but at least he’s not running away from the game, as we’ve seen to many players just disappear after injuries shortened their careers. It’s great to see Baldelli want to stay in baseball and give back to the younger players in the organization, while he attempts to work his way back.

“I’m going to have fun with it,” Baldelli said. “I think I’m going to have fun being out on the field again and having the Rays jersey on and going out and trying to do anything I can to help the young players in the organization. I don’t think I’d want to do it in any other organization than this. I feel this is my second home.”

I really hope Baldelli can get his shoulder issue taken care of and make his way back to the bigs once again. He’ll never be the .300 hitter with blazing speed that he once was but he could still be a productive fourth outfielder if he can get healthy.

In the meantime, hopefully the youngsters take his advice as he was once a very productive major league starter.

The signing came easy, Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com reports that the Rays and Soriano have agreed to a one-year deal. The contract would be worth $7 to 8 million, about what the Braves would of had to pay him after arbitration. One important note, the contract is not guaranteed (a rarity in baseball). So that takes care of obstacle one.

This afternoon teams are exchanging medical records on Chavez and Soriano, that’s what worries me a little bit about the deal. With a non-guaranteed contract I wonder if the Rays are worried about Soriano’s health and rightfully so. He had an amazing 2009 season, (2.97 ERA with 102 strikeouts (2nd amongst non-starters) and 27 saves in 77 appearances) but has had injury concerns throughout his career. In 2008, he made only 14 appearances because of right elbow problems something that I guess is inevitable when you throw as hard as he does.

I’m thinking the records will check out and the Rays make the trade official. The non-guaranteed contract will protect them in case he does get injured at some point before camp begins.

This trade does do something very important, it puts the Rays back in the American League Wild Card hunt. The bullpen was an Achilles heal for the Rays last season.

The Troy Percival gamble didn’t pay off for a second year and they could never find someone to be that lock down pitcher in the 9th inning. J.P. Howell (17 saves) did alright but he’s not a closer. By trading for Soriano they get a pitcher who could quickly become an elite closer in the A.L.

One or two more moves and the Rays will be knocking on the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees doors again next season. It looks like management got a taste of winning in 2008 and didn’t appreciate losing again in 2009. So its good to see them making moves to get that taste back. At least one Florida team is doing things to make themselves contenders year in and year out.

In 2009, Sheffield has hit .277 with 10 homers and 43 runs batted in, his on base percentage is still a pretty good .369 as well. All of that in just 97 games and a low 267 at bats.

The one thing that will hold him back for returning next year is health. He’s proven he can produce when healthy but also proven he’s now an injury prone old man. At his age, I’m sure he’d only want to play for a contender and only way a contender would look at him is if he proved he can stay healthy. I’m going to give Sheff credit as he knows that’s the case.

“No. 1 is health — dedication and health,” Sheffield said. “You’re going to get out what you put in.”

Kevin Kernan of the New York Post reports that Sheffield is going to work on his conditioning this off season, “He’s going to train with boxer Winky Wright and get down to about 210 pounds. His goal, he said, is to play 150 games. ”

I think if Sheffield can improve his conditioning and stay healthy, he could have a big 2010. He’s always been the guy that wants to prove others wrong. It’s why he always plays his best against former teams. Look at the New York Yankees, he’s hit 5 homers in 58 at bats against them since he was traded away. He knows he can produce and loves to stick it to the teams who said he couldn’t anymore.

If the Mets let him walk after this season, which is almost a certainty, he’ll have that much more incentive to come back at a high level.

Now that brings up another thing, what teams would be interested in his services?

Kernan lists the Tampa Bay Rays, Florida Marlins, Houston Astros and Texas Rangers as possibilities if he can’t return to New York. Notice a trend there?

Tampa Bay and Florida are turning into big rivals of the two New York teams. Both teams are also close to his Tampa home. Both teams need a legitimate slugger. Both can use some swagger and Sheffield could definitely bring that.

My money is on Sheffield being a major league outfielder again in 2010, where I’m not sure. But if he’s healthy count on him hitting at least 20 homers again.