The Tampa Bay Rays have six impending free agents after the World Series is over. Here is who I think will be staying and leaving out of this bunch:

Kelly Shoppach: 31-year old righty swinging catcher Kelly Shoppach was a playoff hero for the Rays, but he was terrible most of the 2011 season. Shoppach played in 87 games for the Rays in 2011 and he was 39 for 221 (.176 avg, .607 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 11 homers and 22 RBIs. The Rays have a club option worth $3.2 million bucks on Shoppach for 2012 with a $300,000 buyout. PREDICTION: LEAVING

Casey Kotchman: 28-year old lefty swinging 1B Casey Kotchman played in 146 games for the Rays last year and he was 153 of 500 (.306 avg, .800 OPS) with 44 runs scored, 10 homers, 48 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He also played outstanding defense for the Rays at 1B last year. PREDICTION: STAYING

Johnny Damon: 37-year old lefty swinging DH Johnny Damon played in 150 games for the Rays in 2011 and he was 152 of 582 (.261 avg, .743 OPS) with 79 runs scored, 16 homers, 73 RBIs and 19 stolen bases. I only think the Rays will offer around $3 million bucks to him for 2012. PREDICTION: STAYS

Kyle Farnsworth: 35-year old righty reliever Kyle Farnsworth pitched in 63 games (0 starts) for the Rays in 2011 and he was 5-1 with 25 saves, a 2.18 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP. The Rays have a club option worth $3.3 million bucks for 2012 or they can buy Farnsworth out for $650,000 bucks. PREDICTION: STAYS

Joel Peralta: 35-year old righty reliever Joel Peralta pitched in 71 games (0 starts) for the Rays last year and he was 3-4 with 6 saves, a 2.93 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP. He is going to likely get an offer that the Rays won’t be willing to match in free agency. PREDICTION: LEAVING

Juan Cruz: 32-year old righty reliever Juan Cruz pitched in 56 games (0 starts) for the Rays in 2011 and he was 5-0 with a 3.88 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. PREDICTION: STAYING

Sure, the Rays lost the A.L.D.S. for the second year in a row to the Texas Rangers. That doesn’t erase the fact that the Rays won the Wild Card in the A.L. while finishing in second place in the A.L. East with a 91-71 record, only six games behind the Yankees. Not bad for a team that slashed the payroll big time last winter. Here is a look at the things that stood out to me in 2011:

TEAM MVP: 30-year old switch-hitting 2B/RF Ben Zobrist gets this award over Evan Longoria, because he didn’t miss any time to injury. Zobrist played in 156 games for the Rays in 2011 and he was 158 for 588 (.269 avg, .822 OPS) with 99 runs scored, 46 doubles, 6 triples, 20 homers, 91 RBIs and 19 stolen bases.

BEST PITCHER: 29-year old righty starting pitcher James Shields was truly “Big Game James” during the regular season for the Rays in 2011. He pitched in 33 games (all starts) for the Rays in 2011 and he was 16-12 with a 2.82 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. Shields was a workhorse for the Rays as he threw 11 complete games and 4 shutouts in 2011, saving the bullpen a lot of wear and tear every five days.

PLEASANT SURPRISE: 28-year old lefty swinging 1B Casey Kotchman started the season with the Durham Bulls. He bided his time and the Rays called him up in April. Kotchman took over as the starting 1B shortly after his call up and he played Gold Glove caliber defense while giving the Rays a much needed solid bat. Kotchman played in 146 games for the Rays in 2011 and he was 153 for 500 (.306 avg, .800 OPS) with 44 runs scored, 10 homers, 48 RBIs and 2 stolen bases.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: 39-year old righty swinging DH Manny Ramirez was signed last winter to provide some thump in the middle of the Rays’ batting order. He didn’t last too long. Ramirez played in 5 games for the Rays in 2011 and he was 1 for 17 (.059 avg, .118 OPS) with 1 run scored. Ramirez was suspended for 100 games last April and he decided to retire on the spot from the Rays and Major League Baseball.

The Rays battled the Rangers to the bitter end today before falling just a tad short. Sean Rodriguez tried to will the Rays to win this game as he was 1 for 2 with 2 walks, a double and 3 runs scored. He ran over Mike Napoli to score one of the runs today as he was giving 120% the whole day. Casey Kotchman (2 for 4 with 2 RBIs) and Matt Joyce (1 for 4 with a double and a RBI) also pitched in with the bats for the Rays today, but that was about it. Jeremy Hellickson got the start and the loss today, as he didn’t pitch too well. Hellickson pitched 4 innings for the Rays in this game and he gave up 4 hits, walked 1 batter, whiffed 1 batter and he gave up 3 runs (all earned) on 3 homers. Rookie lefty Matt Moore followed Hellickson in the game and he worked 3 solid innings allowing only 1 hit (a Beltre homer), 1 run (earned), walked 1 batter and he whiffed 2. Joel Peralta and Wade Davis combined for 2 shutout innings for the Rays today. The Rays were beat in this series 3-1 by the Rangers, as the season is now over for them.

Desmond Jennings, B.J. Upton and Kelly Shoppach are leading the way with the bats for the Rays so far in this series. Desmond Jennings has lit the fire at the top of the lineup. He has played in all 3 games for the Rays in this series and he is 4 for 11 (.364 avg, 1.462 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 1 double, 2 homers and 2 RBIs. Jennings is also playing really well defensively in LF. B.J. Upton has also been ripping the baseball in this series. He has played in all 3 games against the Rangers and he is 4 for 10 (.400 avg, 1.271 OPS) with 3 doubles and 3 runs scored. Upton is only 1 for 3 in stealing bases and that has hurt the Rays a little bit. Kelly Shoppach only hit .176 for the Rays during the regular season, but he is ripping the ball in this series. He has played in all 3 games for the Rays in this series and he is 3 for 7 (.429 avg, 1.786 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 2 homers and 6 RBIs. Shoppach needs to be playing all of the time right now instead of sharing time with John Jaso.

Things were looking very good for the Rays last night with two outs in the top of the 7th inning and that’s when the roof caved in on them. David Price was rolling along with a shutout until he faced Mike Napoli who drilled a two-run homer to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead. Price then left the game with a runner on first base. Brandon Gomes followed him into the game and he walked the only two batters he faced to load up the bases. J.P. Howell was then summoned to pitch to Josh Hamilton and he gave up a 2-run single to give the Rangers a 4-1 lead. Juan Cruz and Joel Peralta combined to work the last 2 1/3 innings without giving up any runs to give the Rays a shot to come back, which they almost did.

The offense didn’t do much yesterday outside of Desmond Jennings. Jennings was 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored, 2 homers and 2 RBIs in this game. Johnny Damon (1 for 4 with 1 run) and Sean Rodriguez (1 for 2 with a RBI) also helped out offensively for the Rays in this game. The Rays are now down 2-1 in this series, with a do or die game against the Rangers at Tropicana Field later today.