Rays deal Delmon to Twins

The Rays completed a six-player deal late Wednesday to send AL Rookie of the Year runner-up Delmon Young to the Minnesota Twins in exchange for RHP Matt Garza, SS Jason Bartlett and a minor-leaguer.

The Rays also gave up INF Brendan Harris and minor-league OF Jason Pridie.

The Rays get Garza, who will go right into their rotation, and Bartlett, who becomes their starting shortstop. They also get minor-league RHP Eduardo Morlan, a 21-year-old who was 5-3 with 18 saves and a 3.10 ERA with Class A Fort Myers and Double-A New Britain. He struck out 99 in 69 2/3 innings.

"It's a business decision, and it helps out both teams,'' Young said. "We had too many outfielders and one of them had to go.''

Young said he was "excited" to to join the Twins and would "go over there and help out their club with 100 percent effort.''

He said he was not surprised the Rays would trade him because "you always know if there's an offer they can't resist they're going to pull the trigger.''

The Rays were in serious discussions throughout the day and earlier seemed poised to get veteran reliever Juan Rincon, but concerns surfaced about his elbow, and Morlan was substituted in the deal.

"I haven't heard anything," Young said when reached on his cell phone mid-evening Wednesday. "Just gimme a call when something gets done or not done."

The key pieces to the deal is Bartlett, who would step into the team's starting shortstop role, and Garza, a talented 24-year-old right hander who likely would become the Rays' No. 3 starter.

The Rays are also close to working out a deal to sign veteran free-agent reliever Troy Percival, who pitched under Rays manager Joe Maddon with the Angels. Percival pitched to a 1.80 ERA in 40 innings with the Cardinals last season after coming back from arm problems that led him to a brief retirement.

"Percy has huge admiration for Joe Maddon and he's instructed me to kind of really roll up my sleeves and get something done within the next couple days," Percival's agent, Paul Cohen, said Wednesday.

Reports of the potential deal surfaced around mid-afternoon and Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman left Wednesday afternoon's stadium rendering unveiling abruptly, with his BlackBerry attached to his ear after telling the Rays PR staff he wasn't available for comment.

The Rays would lose a key piece out of their prized outfield. The 22-year-old Young hit .288 with 13 homers and 93 RBIs and made 16 outfield assists.

Garza was 5-7 with a 3.69 ERA in 16 appearances last season. Bartlett is a career .271 hitter, a base-stealing threat and owns a .967 career fielding percentage, but he is coming off a season in which he made a career-high 26 errors.

Harris, who hit .286 with 12 homers and 59 RBIs, opened his first full major season as the Rays starting shortstop, but was moved to second later in the season when questions about his range and durability arose.

"My phone's been blowing up all day," Harris said when reached on cell phone. "I haven't heard anything from Tampa directly, so I'm just waiting. I'm really surprised though."

Pridie, who was just added to the team's 40-man roster last week, was selected by the Twins in last season's Rule 5 Draft and returned to the Rays before the season. he had 14 homers and 26 stolen bases between Double-A Montgomery and Triple-A Durham.

In other Rays news, the team traded right-handed reliever Brian Stokes to the Mets for cash considerations. Stokes, who was 2-7 with a 7.07 ERA, was taken off the 40-man roster last week and designated for assignment.

Shortstop talks heating up?

The Rays' search for a shortstop has expanded to include Minnesota's Jason Bartlett and the teams have had discussions.
Bartlett, 28, has been the Twins' primary starter the last two seasons, though he was limited by neck and back injuries last season.
Bartlett hit .309 in 99 games in 2006, but dropped off last season to .265, with five homers, 43 RBIs and 23 stolen bases. His defense also suffered last season as he made 26 errors and had a .960 fielding percentage; in 2006 he made 13 errors and had a .971 fielding percentage.
The talks could be part of a larger deal as the Twins are reported to have interest in several of the Rays prized young outfielders such as Delmon Young, B.J. Upton and Rocco Baldelli, whose status is in question due to last season's hamstring injury.
If the Rays don't get Bartlett or another shortstop through trade, they could try to sign free agent Cesar Izturis.

What was the Rays' best move?

Trading deadline
What was most significant?
Picking up Calvin Medlock, Brian Shackelford from the Reds
Holding onto closer Al Reyes
Acquiring Grant Balfour from the Brewers
Trading for Dan Wheeler from the Astros

Rays trade Lugo

The Devil Rays traded veteran SS Julio Lugo to the Dodgers minutes before the 4 pm deadline for two minor-leaguers, third base prospect Joel Guzman and outfielder Sergio Pedroza.

Lugo is the fourth veteran traded in the last five weeks.

The Rays had been trying to sign Lugo to a long-term deal.

The Rays have also called up prospect B.J. Upton and Ben Zobrist.

Tick, tick, tick ....

With the 4 p.m. deadline for nonwaiver trades approaching, it looks like the Devil Rays are not going to be making any deals.

Unless something unexpected happens in the final hours (or minutes), SS Julio Lugo appears likely to stay with the Rays, and without a contract extension.

He is not going to Boston, at least not as part of rumored three- and four-way deals that were flying around Fenway Park and the Internet Sunday night. It's true the Padres need a third baseman (which the Red Sox in theory could provide with Mike Lowell) and the Red Sox need pitching (which the Padres could provide with Scott Linebrink and maybe others) and the Rays want prospects and young major-leaguers (which both teams have), but there was no deal to be made.

And the subsequent rumors of the Rays trading Lugo for Sox 2B Mark Loretta made even less sense. The Rays would have no use for Loretta, and the Sox would be taking a huge gamble in trying to move Lugo to second base in the midst of a pennant race.

Though the Rays need to add an infielder to take Ty Wigginton's place for Monday night's game with Detroit, and though B.J. Upton seems to be the obvious fit, the Rays as of midday, have yet to make any announcement about a roster move.

Will he stay or will he go ....

Agent Dan Lozano confirmed to the Times Thursday night that the Devil Rays have offered  shortstop Julio Lugo a long-term contract.
The Rays had been exploring the trade market for Lugo, but in the last few days have turned their attention toward signing the veteran shortstop, who leads the team with a .309 average and fills the important leadoff slot.
With a Monday 4 p.m. deadline for nonwaiver trades looming, the Rays and Lugo's representatives won't have time for extended negotiations. If the Rays don't sign Lugo, the Blue Jays are considered the most likely trade partners.

Lugo (again) not playing for Rays ...

Shortstop Julio Lugo was out of the Devil Rays lineup for a second straight game Monday, though this time with a reason why - a bruise on the tip of his right middle finger. Lugo, the subject of significant trade rumors, was in the original lineup but scratched after testing the finger during batting practice. He has not played since leaving Saturday's game after hitting two home runs in the fifth inning. The Blue Jays are believed to be the team most interested in Lugo, and have young pitching to offer back to the Rays.

Lugo not playing for Rays ...

With trade rumors circulating and the July 31 deadline for nonwaiver deals fast approaching, shortstop Julio Lugo was not in the Devil Rays' lineup on Sunday.

Manager Joe Maddon said he was simply giving Lugo, who plays every day, the game off. And Lugo said he was fine and was available to play if needed. But since he hit two home runs in the fifth inning of Saturday's bizarre 13-12 victory - just the second shortstop to homer twice in the same inning in major-league history - the timing of his day off was, at the least curious.

The Blue Jays are considered the team most interested in Lugo, though the Mets and Red Sox are other possibilities. And more teams may express interest as the deadline nears.

Huff dealt for two more prospects, Upton moved to third

The Devil Rays made another big deal, trading veteran third baseman Aubrey Huff to the Houston Astros on Wednesday for two minor-leaguers.

They also took a big step toward replacing Huff by announcing later that top prospect B.J. Upton would move to third base at Triple-A Durham and would be promoted when he is comfortable there.

The Rays also included about $1.6-million cash in the deal to cover just less than  half of what remained on Huff's $6.75-million salary.

The prospects they got back were both playing for Double-A Corpus Christi: right-handed starter Mitch Talbot, 22, the Astros' second-round pick in 2002, was 6-4 with a 3.39 ERA, eighth best in the Texas League, with 29 walks and 98 strikeouts; and  shortshop Ben Zobrist, 25, a sixth-round pick in 2004, was hitting .328 with 25 doubles, three homers and 30 RBI and was a Texas League All-Star. Both will join the Rays' Double-A team in Montgomery, Ala.

With Huff traded, Ty Wigginton is likely to get most of the playing time at third until Upton, who has been playing shortstop, is ready.

Rays trade Huff to Astros

The Devil Rays made another big deal, trading veteran third baseman Aubrey Huff to the Houston Astros on Wednesday.

The Rays, who also included cash in the deal to cover some of Huff's $6.75-million salary, get back two minor leaguers who were playing at the Double-A level: right-handed starter Mitch Talbot, 6-4 with a 3.39 ERA, and shortshop Ben Zobrist, who is hitting .327 with three homers and 30 RBI.

With Huff traded, Ty Wigginton is likely to take over at third.

Rays make a deal ...

MIAMI -  The Devil Rays completed a trade Tuesday they feel will make them younger and better at two positions – acquiring catcher Dioner Navarro and pitcher Jae Seo from the Dodgers for Toby Hall and lefthanded starter Mark Hendrickson.

The Rays also will send $1-million to the Dodgers and will get back a minor-league player to be named later. The deal is expected to be announced at 3 p.m. Tuesday.

Navarro, 22, was the Dodgers' opening-day starter and was hitting .280 through 25 games. But he went on the disabled list in May after being struck on the wrist by a foul ball. When he was healthy again, Navarro was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas. The switch hitter is batting .175 in 11 games.

Navarro, who is 5-foot-9 and 215 pounds and nicknamed Little Pudge in reference to Tigers star Ivan “Pudge’ Rodriguez, was considered the top prospect in the Yankees organization in 2004 before being traded to Los Angeles by way of Arizona. He is expected to join the Rays Wednesday in Miami and is considered to have the offensive and defensive skills to be a top-notch starter.

Seo, 29, has been working out of the Dodgers bullpen after being bumped from their rotation and is 2-4 with a 5.78 ERA. The Korean born-righthander, who was signed by the Mets and traded to the Dodgers in January, is expected to replace Hendrickson in the Rays rotation. Seo was 8-2 with a 2.59 ERA for the Mets last season with 16 walks and 59 strikeouts in 90 1/3 innings. (His name is pronounced Jay Sew.)

The trade continues the Rays’ strategy of stockpiling promising young players whom they can control for several years. The Rays have Navarro for five more seasons and Seo, who will be arbitration-eligible for the first time after this season, for another three.

Hall, 30, has been the Rays primary starter since 2002. He had a hot start this season but is now hitting .231 with eight homers and 22 RBIs. He is making $2.25-million this season and would be eligible for free agency after the 2007 season. He is likely to share backup duties in Los Angeles with veteran Sandy Alomar Jr.

Hendrickson, 32, has been one of the Rays' most consistent starters, though a lack of run support has left him with a 4-8 record despite a 3.81 ERA. He is making $1.95-million this season and would be in line for a raise to about $4-million next season.

LOTS OF CHANGES

Joe Maddon said sending Seth McClung to Triple-A Durham to learn to be a closer could be the best thing for his career. It certainly couldn't hurt at this point as the right-hander is 2-10 and has lost six straight. McClung may not see it that way (he always talks about being a starter)but Maddon may be right. McClung has a 96-mph fastball and a good curve, the two absolutes for a closer. And he can be good in short spurts. If he can "harness'' his stuff for a short period and overcome any hurt feelings associated with being demoted and having his job description changed, he might just flourish. In the meantime, Edwin Jackson is being brought up from Durham and added to the pen and Tim Corcoran becomes a starter. Jackson is an interesting case. He pitched so well when he was with the Rays but struggled in Durham. Could be a mind thing in that he believes he belongs in the majors. Perhaps we'll see a better pitcher than he has shown lately.

   You've got to feel bad for Joey Gathright. A fan favorite, he was given every opportunity to stake a claim when Rocco Baldelli was hurt. But he failed and now he is traded to the Royals. Not only that, he was traded for a mid-level minor leaguer in J.P. Howell. It wasn't long ago Gathright was believe to be trade bait for Marlins hotshot Scott Olsen. But Gathright was exposed as a not-ready-for-prime-time major leaguer with bad plate discipline and shoddy defense. It's too bad for the Rays they couldn't pull the trigger on a trade during the winter or spring.