21-year old lefty starting pitcher Jake McGee will miss the remainder of the season due to Tommy John Surgery. This hurts the Rays in more ways than one as McGee was one of their biggest trading chips. McGee pitched in 15 games (all starts) this season in AA ball and he was 6-4 with a 3.94 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP.

I know that the Rays have been talking about going after Ken Griffey Jr., but what would really give the Rays the best shot at winning the American League East would be top add a top notch starting pitcher. With that in mind wouldn’t it be beautiful to have a playoff rotation that starts with Scott Kazmir, James Shields and C.C. Sabathia? The Rays have the players to get it done because the Indians’ farm system needs an influx of hitting. This here is a trade that would help both teams both now and in the future it would benefit the Indians. The Indians would trade C.C. Sabathia and righty reliever Rafael Betancourt (who is much better than he has pitched this season) and in return the Tribe would acquire outfielders Justin Ruggiano, Desmond Jennings, Ryan Royster, shortstop Reid Brignac and righty starting pitchers Edwin Jackson and Jeff Niemann. Getting Sabathia for the rotation would make the Rays a legit playoff time but losing Jennings would hurt them down the road. Still, isn’t it nice to think that the Rays might be adding instead of dumping at the trade deadline for the first time in team history?

Scott Kazmir has come off of the D.L. firing bullets and rewarding the Rays for the nice new contract extension that they have given him. Kazmir has started 8 games this season for the Rays and he is 6-2 with a 1.74 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. He has whiffed 54 batters in only 51.2 innings which shows how nasty his stuff has been. If the Rays keep winning no one will want to face them come playoff time knowing that they will have to beat Kazmir to oust the Rays.

With some of the injury problems the Rays have been having they should have considered bringing up 28-year old lefty swinging veteran 1B Dan Johnson. Johnson has played in 42 games in AAA ball this season and he is 44 for 146 (.301 avg, .944 OPS) with 35 runs scored, 9 homers and 32 RBIs. He also played in 1 game for the A’s this season and he was 0 for 1. Johnson has now played in 318 games in his major league career and he is 268 for 1,078 (.249 avg, .763 OPS) with 137 runs scored, 42 homers and 157 RBIs. Johnson has been a good soldier in the minors and he deserves another chance in the majors.

Starting 1B Carlos Pena has landed on the 15-day disabled list with a fractured left finger. Pena has played in 57 games for the Rays this year and he is 47 for 207 (.227 avg, .763 OPS) with 27 runs scored, 11 homers and 35 RBIs. Pena’s biggest problem this season has been making contact as he has whiffed 71 times this season. Despite the rough start to the season the Rays will miss Pena big time. Eric Hinske will likely take over as the starting 1B most of the time. He has played in 50 games this season for the Rays and he is 39 for 156 (.250 avg, .850 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 10 homers, 28 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. The Rays have recalled Justin Ruggiano from AAA to replace Pena on the active roster. He has played in 7 games for the Rays this season and he is 3 for 12 (.250 avg, .690 OPS) with 3 runs scored and 1 RBI. Ruggiano was playing very well in AAA ball but he won’t likely get much playing time behind Gabe Gross and Johnny Gomes in the outfield. Ruggiano has played in 34 games in AAA ball this season and he is 41 for 127 (.323 avg, .916 OPS) with 28 runs scored, 5 homers, 27 RBIs and 12 stolen bases.