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Suddenly, St. Pete Is A Destination Point

Tribune photo by JASON BEHNKEN

A sour economy might put the Rays in the mix for players like Bobby Abreu who might otherwise have seemed out of reach.

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By MARC LANCASTER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 7, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - As Andrew Friedman and the rest of the Rays' front-office crew rolls into the Bellagio hotel today for baseball's winter meetings, one thing is certain: They won't draw any of those good-luck-with-that glances that might have been offered up in silent sympathy the past couple of years.

It won't take five days in Las Vegas surrounded by admiring peers for the Rays to realize they have arrived as a major player; they already have seen ample evidence since the final out of the World Series about five weeks ago.

Where they once had to plead for attention from potential free-agent signees - not only because of their limited payroll but also because of the black-hole stigma their organization has carried for most of its history - their phones have been ringing much more frequently this offseason.

"There's no question," Friedman said. "We've gotten calls from players that don't fit us at all, at positions that we have guys entrenched for a number of years, who said, 'Look, we know you're fairly well set at this position, but this guy's very interested in playing there and would be willing to move around a little bit to accommodate it.' It's great, and it's something we hope to be able to continue in the future and turn this into the destination spot that we've been talking about."

The Rays still don't have the financial muscle to outbid most of the teams in baseball - or anyone else in their own division, really - when it comes to landing a player looking for a maximum-value contract. But it would appear they have picked a fine time to be sporting a new, more attractive image.

Many observers believe top-dollar, multiyear deals will be tough to come by on the open market this winter, aside from those like CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira who are operating on a higher plane than everyone else. Certainly, others will be paid very handsomely, as in the Giants' curious decision last week to award a two-year, $18.5 million deal to Edgar Renteria.

But there is a definite possibility that a player who thought he might command a four- or five-year deal worth well more than $10 million a year might not end up with any offers in that neighborhood and decide to take a one- or two-year deal in hopes the economy will rebound a year or two down the road. Such a scenario could bring the Rays into the mix for a player who might otherwise have seemed out of reach, like Bobby Abreu, who could make an immediate impact for a team expected to contend.

Signing any player of that magnitude would require the Rays to expand their financial parameters beyond what they have been comfortable with in the past, but it sounds as if they're more than open to the possibility.

"We're looking to defend our American League championship next year, so a lot of emphasis is on '09," Friedman said. "That said, we can't stray too far away from what got us to this point."

COACHES' CORNER: Pitching coach Jim Hickey signed a one-year contract for 2009, bringing him in line with the rest of the major-league staff - all of whom received two-year deals before the 2008 season. ... The Rays aren't sure whether they will hire a new quality assurance coach to replace Tim Bogar, who left to serve as first base coach for the Red Sox. ... They also don't know whether Brian Anderson will have a coaching role next season; he could be the choice to replace Joe Magrane in the Rays' TV booth.

WINTER-BALL WATCH: In Venezuela, OF Fernando Perez returned to the Caracas lineup Thursday after missing a week with some soreness in his hip. ... In Puerto Rico, RHP Eduardo Morlan, who was left unprotected for this week's Rule 5 draft, has a 2.31 ERA and two saves for Caguas while striking out 12 in 112/3 innings.

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