The Rays have dealt 31-year old switch-hitting infielder Felipe Lopez to the Brewers for cash considerations. Lopez played in 32 games for the Rays this year and he was 21 for 97 (.216 avg, .567 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 2 homers, 8 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Lopez also played in 48 games in AAA-ball this year and he was 58 for 190 (.305 avg, .831 OPS) with 25 runs scored, 7 homers, 37 RBIs and 1 stolen base. It speaks volumes about what the Rays think of Lopez to not bring him back up when he was hitting like he was in AAA. They are probably glad to deal him.

The Rays have sent 27-year old lefty reliever Cesar Ramos to AAA-ball. Ramos has pitched in 46 games (0 starts) for the Rays so far this year and he is 0-1 with a 4.22 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. He has only given up 26 hits in 32 innings for the Rays so far this year, but, he has walked 19 batters and that has gotten him into a lot of trouble. The Rays have called up 27-year old righty reliever/starter Jay Buente to replace Ramos in the bullpen. Buente has pitched in 22 games (9 starts) this year in AAA-ball for the Marlins & Rays and he was 4-3 with 1 save, a 3.80 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. He also pitched in 1 game (he started against the Rays) in the majors this year and he is 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA and a 2.67 WHIP. Buente has pitched in 9 games (1 start) in parts of two years in the majors and he is 0-1 with a 7.07 ERA and a 2.50 WHIP. Buente will be the new long man in the pen for the Rays.

With the trade deadline a little more than a week away, the Rays are 6.5 games behind the Yankees for the Wild Card and they are 8.5 games behind the Red Sox for the A.L. East. They can’t afford to lose any more ground or the team could look at lot different on August 1st. James Shields and B.J. Upton are likely to be traded regardless of how well the Rays do next week. That’s because rookies Alex Cobb and Brandon Jennings are ready to replace them. But, if the Rays don’t right the ship soon they could look for new homes for a few of the other players on the team. Johnny Damon, Casey Kotchman, Kyle Farnsworth and Joel Peralta would likely appeal to other teams. Kelly Shoppach, Andy Sonnanstine and J.P. Howell could also be on the move. I hope the Rays get going quickly because I don’t want to see another fire sale in Tampa, as that was the method of operation every year when they were the Devil Rays.

The Tampa Bay Rays seem more than willing to deal righty starting pitcher James Shields. The Reds, Cardinals and Tigers look to be the teams most after Shields. The Reds and Cardinals seem to have to most chance of dealing with the Rays for Big Game James. The Reds might also be interested in expanding the deal to include B.J. Upton, Johnny Damon or Sam Fuld as they are also looking for a LF to leadoff games. I don’t see the Rays packaging Shields and Upton as they can get more for them dealing seperately. Adding Damon or Fuld to the pot will likely increase the return more than most people think. The Reds could offer the Rays a package of catcher Devin Mesoraco, 1B Yonder Alonso, IF/OF Juan Francisco and IF/OF Todd Frazier. That would almost be an impossible offer to turn down because of the Rays’ need to add offense. The Cardinals could entice the Rays to make a deal by offering 1B/3B/OF Allen Craig, CF Colby Rasmus and righty starter/reliever Lance Lynn for Shields, Fuld and Ruggiano. That would make it very tough to decide between the packages. The Tigers don’t really match up with what the Rays need back for Shields.

The Tampa Bay Rays appear to be ready to move B.J. Upton before next weekend’s trade deadline. The 26-year old CF is leading the Rays in homers (15), RBIs (52) and stolen bases (23) so they aren’t going to sell him cheap. The Braves, Nationals, Rangers and Phillies are the likely teams to be hot after Upton. The Braves don’t really have the kind of package that I think would entice the Rays because their best prospects are pitchers. The Rangers could offer up catcher Taylor Teagarden and 1B/OF Chris Davis plus prospects, and that would be an interesting offer as those two players are major league ready right now. If the Rays go the prospect route, the Phillies could offer them 1B/OF Jonathan Singleton and catcher Sebastian Valle plus another prospect or two. That would also make the Rays think about it. The Nationals have been scouting Upton for a while now and they really want him. The Rays would likely be able to get reliever Tyler Clippard, catcher Derek Norris and either outfielder Roger Bernadina or 1B Chris Marrero for Upton. If those are the kind of offers the Rays would get, I would lean towards dealing with the Nationals but I would seriously consider the Rangers’ offer because they need hitters now.