The Tampa Bay Rays are a team that watches their pennies. With that in mind, here are the three free agents that I think they should consider signing up for 2012:

1. Alex Gonzalez - Shortstop was a Black Hole for the Rays last year. They have young shortstops on the way, but I like the idea of signing up Alex Gonzalez on a 1-year deal. He has a good glove still and he hits for random power.

2. Vladimir Guerrero - If the Rays don’t bring Johnny Damon back in 2012, Valdimir Guerrero makes a lot of sense on a 1-year deal. He has ties to manager Joe Maddon from their time together with the Angels. Guerrero’s power might be fading but he’s still a .300 type hitter and the Rays need someone like that.

3. Casey Blake - Casey Blake can play all over the place, so Maddon would love to have him on his team. He can handle 1B and 3B, as well as a spot in the corner outfield. The Rays can likely get him on the cheap due to his recent injury problems.

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.

I have a hard time seeing the Tampa Bay Rays beating out either the Yankees or the Red Sox with the team they have right now. That’s why I’m calling for them to make some bold deals and get back into the fray in the A.L. East. I would start off by dealing righty starting pitcher Jeff Niemann to the Colorado Rockies for center fielder Dexter Fowler. He would take over as the new starting CF because I would then deal B.J. Upton, Andy Sonnanstine and Kelly Shoppach to the Washington Nationals for set-up man Tyler Clippard, catcher Jesus Flores, 1B Chris Marrero and outfielder Roger Bernadina. Flores would take over as John Jaso’s new platoon mate in place of Kelly Shoppach. Clippard would be the ideal set-up man for Kyle Farnsworth. Bernadina would be a backup in the outfield, likely playing in LF most of the time. Marrero would go to AAA and he would be called up by the Rays to possibly help them at DH when Johnny Damon plays LF. I would then deal lefty reliever J.P. Howell to the Seattle Mariners for shortstop Jack Wilson, rookie 1B Mickey Wiswall and cash. Wilson would immediately be the Rays’ starting shortstop which would tighten up the defense and Wiswall would go to the minors. The Rays would then call up lefty Jake McGee to replace Howell in the bullpen. The final deal would be trading 2B Sean Rodriguez to the Tigers for righty reliever Ryan Perry. Perry would give the Rays another power arm to develop. These deals would improve the chances of catching both the Red Sox and Yankees in the A.L. East.