J.P. Howell has done a fantastic job this season for the Rays but he’s not a lefty specialist as the Rays’ really value the fact that he can pitch multiple innings. That brings us to Trever Miller who has been a train wreck this season. He has pitched in 45 games for the Rays and he is 0-0 with a 5.13 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP. The thing that’s so maddening about Miller is that he has only allowed 24 hits in 26.1 innings but he has also walked 18 batters. If he just threw strikes when he came into the game this wouldn’t be a need for the Rays. There is a long list of lefty relievers that are probably available but the Rays have to decide what they are willing to pay for one. If they are going to ante up and go for it they can try to trade for George Sherrill of the Orioles or Ron Mahay of the Royals but neither of them will come cheaply. Lesser names are out there as the 2nd tier likely consists of Jack Tascher (Giants), Will Ohman (Braves), John Grabow (Pirates) and Jeremy Affeldt (Braves). Those guys would likely still cost the Rays a pretty decent prospect. Jamie Walker, Arthur Rhodes and Scott Eyre can all probably be had dirt cheap prospect wise and this might be a smart way to go. I prefer Rhodes out of this bunch as the Mariners’ front office is pretty poor and wouldn’t require much for him. A name to remember here is probably Scott Schoeneweis of the Mets due to the fact that he used to pitch for the Angels while Joe Maddon was coaching out there. Regardless of who the Rays want of this bunch of pitchers it would be a upgrade on Trever Miller whose days as a Ray could be numbered.

The Rays have been linked to trade rumors with the Pirates for Jason Bay and the Rangers for Milton Bradley but I have problems with both of these guys. The Pirates want a lot for Jason Bay which makes me think that they really don’t want to trade him. Milton Bradley is a time bomb and I wouldn’t give up much for him because he’s very injury prone. The Rays did a great job in the off season getting rid of headaches like Delmon Young and Elijah Dukes so it makes no sense bringing in a player that makes both of them look like choir boys. I like the idea of going after Marcus Thames of the Tigers and Josh Willingham of the Marlins. The Tigers would probably want something like Jeff Niemann and Jason Hammel from the Rays for Thames as they are desperately looking for a 5th starter. That would be worth it to take a chance on Thames who has one of the best pure power swings in all of baseball. Thames has played in 70 games for the Tigers this season and he is 54 for 206 (.262 avg, .920 OPS) with 38 runs scored, 20 homers and 43 RBIs. He’s not a platoon player either as he is hitting .269 against righties with 11 homers in 130 at bats this season. Thames has 9 homers in only 76 at bats against lefties (.250 avg). Josh Willingham is a terrible defensive outfielder but he has a solid bat. The Marlins would probably be very interested in catcher John Jaso and outfielder Justin Ruggiano. This trade also would make a lot of sense for the Rays. Willingham has played in 52 games this season for the Marlins and he is 48 for 183 (.262 avg, .839 OPS) with 33 runs scored, 8 homers and 26 RBIs. Prior to this season, Willingham has been very effective with the bat. He played in 286 games in 2006+2007 for the Marlins and he hit .271 with 137 runs scored, 47 homers and 163 RBIs. If I had to choose I would make the trade with Detroit before the one with the Marlins.

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?