Time for Major League Baseball to Move the Tampa Bay Rays

 Even with a winning team, the Rays are averaging just over 19,000 a game, worst in Baseball

I don’t know what Major League Baseball is waiting for when it comes to the situation that the Tampa Bay Rays are in right now and have been for the last few years. They have been one of the better teams in baseball for the last 4 years, having been to the playoffs for 3 straight years and to the World Series once, yet they play in a crappy field (Tropicana Field is brutal) to sparse crowds that only seem to swell when the Yankees are in town.

Back in July, even the Commish Bud Selig came out and said the attendance in Tampa was "Inexcusable" and "Disappointing" yet he really can't do much about the situation. When both he and the head of the players union agree that there is a problem and yet they don't know what to do about it, that tells you that maybe its time to look outside the box for some creative way to solve the issue.(Selig and Union Position)

When both the League and the Union agree there is an issue in Tampa but don't know how to fix it...

You have a MAJOR problem 

This isn't a situation like what happened to the Expos. Poor on-field performance and ownership issues ultimately doomed the team. This Tampa team struggled mightily early on with bad players and teams for nearly a decade. Yet the fans support was pretty good for the first few years. Eventually of course, it did lead to poor crowds and the lowest average attendance in the league over the last 15 years.  The good news about their poor performance was that it allowed the team to create a wealth of prospects in their farm system which, over the last 5 years, have helped turn the team into a powerhouse that has a chance to consistently challenge for a playoff position year in, year out. 

But even with some great players coming through their system, because of the fact that they are not playing to big crowds (except when they play the Red Sox or Yankees), the team has not been able to keep them. Carl Crawford is a perfect example of that. He was drafte by Tampa and blossomed into an All-Star with the Rays. However, once he became a free agent, he was lured away with a massive contract from the Red Sox (7 years, $142 million).Even their best player, Evan Longoria, who was clearly Major League ready in his rookie year, was forced to wait 7 weeks in the minors in order to ensure that his Major League time would not begin to count down towards his eventual free agency status (since a players' arbitration eligibility rights are evaluated based on how many days they spend in the Major Leagues). It was a move made by a penny pinching owner to try to delay the loss of a potential star down the road.

With the right conditions now present, why not bring the Expos, and Youppi! back?

If you don’t have the attendance to support your team, then you are in danger of becoming the Montreal Expos of the early 2000’s when Major League Baseball took over ownership of the team and allowed the team to essentially die away. I'm not saying that it will happen as Tampa actually has an owner trying to do what they can to keep the team economically viable in Tampa but the Expos main issues were not all the same as those being faced currently by the Rays. The only real similarity is the stadium as the Expos were never able to have a real home for themselves built in the downtown area, which is the same problem that the Rays have. Ownership in Tampa is much more solid as can be seen by their financial commitments to Evan Longoria and David Price who both signed long term deals. The Expos were used by owner Jeffrey Loria in order to maneuver his way into changing the team he owned, buying the Florida/Miami Marlins and leaving the Expos in limbo.

As well, the Expos mess really was the culmination of several things including the value of the Canadian dollar having sunk to $0.62 US. When you are paying out your player salaries in US dollars and bringing in revenue in Canadian, at that time, it was almost an untenable situation and for some Canadian teams, it led to their moving South (Quebec and Winnipeg left for Colorado and Phoenix in the NHL, Vancouver Grizzlies left for Memphis in the NBA and the Expos became the Washington Nationals in 2004). Given how much of a turnaround has happened in the value of our currency over the last 8 years, the time is right for several failing US based teams to be brought back north of the 49^th Parallel. One of which should be the Tampa Bay Rays moving to Montreal as the re-born Expos.

 In  their heyday, both the team and their fans were something special

From all accounts, Quebec has rejuvenated itself and become once again a prosperous Province with a lower unemployment rate average then the rest of the country and many primarily Quebec based companies having turned into giants (Rona, Desjardins Financial and Quebecor come to mind). With their economic base growing and interest in bring back the Quebec Nordiques at an all time high (with construction already underway on a new Colisee in the city of Quebec), the time is right to start focusing on bringing back the Expos.

Quebecor has been the driving force behind the potential return of the Nords, pledging money and willing to be the owners of any potential new team in the city. They are a multi-media giant in the province, owning cable TV stations TVA and the Sun Media chain of newspapers all across the country. They are chomping at the bit waiting for the opportunity to arise where they can pounce on a troubled US based NHL team and move them to Quebec City because of the content that an NHL team can drive for their other businesses. An NHL team in that city would spawn both English and French based reporters to set up base there. It would drive up local ratings for their stations that cover the team, it would create more content to be covered by their newspapers in the area and their websites would attract more hits on stories about the team.  In essence, investing in a team by a multi-media giant is ideal in that it drives up business for all of its other areas.

Fan groups still number in the thousands and former players still remember fondly their

time in "La Belle Provence" 

To me, this means that a company like Bell would be the ideal fit to purchase the Tampa Bay Rays and move them to Montreal even as early as next year. I know that there isn’t a deal yet in place to build a baseball specific facility in Montreal but that is primarily because there is no need. No team means that there is no need to concern yourself with such an issue. But, if Bell can see the value of having purchased 37.5% ownership over MLSE in conjunction with their biggest rival, Rogers, then clearly they understand what I just discussed about how a sports team drives content. Rogers owns the Jays as well on their own as well as Skydome (Rogers Centre) which should show the people at Bell that there is money to be made and content to be delivered to many waiting customers and fans.

There are still thousands of Expos fans all across the country and particularly in Montreal. They didn’t abandon the team because they stopped enjoying the sport, far from it. They turned on the team when Loria made it abundantly clear that he would not spend on them and had given up any hope of trying to jointly work on any proposal for a new stadium. The Expos logo and colours are still incredibly popular as Expo caps are the 3^rd highest seller across Canada, only behind the New Jays caps and the Yankees traditional cap.

There are thousands of fans on Facebook groups supporting the Expos and a possible return and some groups have even organized themselves and made their presence felt by attending Major League games decked out in full retro Expos gear. The people would come back to watch Expos games, of that I have no doubt. All you have to look at for proof of that is by looking at the average attendance the year before Loria took over the Expos ownership, 1998. The team averaged close to 19,000 fans in the cavernous Olympic Stadium, the same number as the Rays today, but had hardly any corporate sponsorship support nor did they have an actual season ticket base. That is also the same average number of fans that the Blue Jays averaged between 2007 and 2010. Once Loria took over, their attendance began to drop because it became clear that Loria had no interest in either being the owner of the Expos or spending any of his own money on a team he had no real interest in owning long term.

Bell would not be the best suited to own the team but given the pre-occupation that Quebecor has with getting and NHL team back in Quebec City, and the fact that Bell could copy the Rogers model on how they have gone coast to coast with their promotion of the Blue Jays, they are the ideal potential owners for a Major League team to return to Montreal.

Blue Jays Need Some Changes

This wasn't the first key injury but it clearly was a sign that 2012 was not going to be the Jays year 

Oh how things change. It was just 6 months ago that the Blue Jays were starting off on what was supposed to be their coming out party season. This was supposed to be the year that the Jays began their rapid ascent up the American League East Standings and challenged the traditional powers of the game for the first time since 1993. They rattled off an impressive Grapefruit League record, going 24-6 and seemed poised to have breakthrough seasons from several of their promising young players. Injuries and the pressure seemed to have gotten the better of the team this year as they enter Saturday’s game against the Rays with a record of 66-83. Some changes need to be made to the roster heading into next year and I know exactly what they need to do.

Lets start with the bullpen. Since the massive 10 player trade that was completed between the Jays and the Astros, the Jays bullpen has solidified and become among the most consistent in the American League. They have also become among the league leaders in Strikeouts since they traded for Brad Lincoln (Pittsburgh) and Steve Delabar (Seattle). With Sergio Santos due back next year from Shoulder issues and, possible returns of Darrin Oliver (he may retire, he is 42), Branden Lyon and Jason Frasor (who holds the Jays record for relief appearances and is married to a local woman), the bullpen has the makings of being pretty solid. When you make Brad Lincoln the long man and Aaron Loop to the mix as a situational side-arm lefty, there are pieces in place to really give the back end of the pitching staff some stability it has lacked for a few years.

When Drabek, Morrow and Drew Hutchison went down with injuries 3 consecutive game days, 

not only was it shocking but it set back the Jays Pitching staff 2 years in the process 

Now comes the starters and an area that seemed to be a strength heading into the season given the young arms coming up through the farm system. With Kyle Drabek and Drew Hutchison seen as potential top of the rotation guys down the road, their elbow injuries (and subsequent Tommy John-Ligament replacement surgeries) really threw the team for a loop in early June. Both of them are more than likely not going to be significant contributors to the team until the 2014 season. Carlos Villanueva is more than likely not going to return, given the way he reacted to some fair and accurate criticisms by Alex Anthopolos of his career up to this point and Brett Cecil seems to be finished as a starter for this team. He and Aaron Laffey, although solid at times, more then likely will be shown the door over the winter.

With those 3 most likely gone, that would leave Brandon Morrow as the #1 Starter, Ricky Romero and JA Happ and Henderson Alvarez fighting it out internally for the #2,3 and 4 spots with 1 opening left in the starting 5. This is where the Jays need to go out and make a splash. The team needs a strong starting pitcher added to the mix. There are several  that will be on the open market in the offseason including Zack Greinke, Ryan Dempster, James Shields (who seems to love pitching in the AL East and against the Jays particularly), Anibal Sanchez, Daisuke Matzusaka, Tim Hudson, Jake Peavy, Gavin Floyd and Shaun Marcum (if you are looking for a solid #3). To push this team into the next level, the Jays need to go after 4 or 5 of these guys and land at least 2 of them. They need to chase after Dempster, Greinke, Sheilds, Hudson, Peavy and Marcum with some solid, attractive long term contract offers and land a new ace for the staff as well as possibly some depth.

 Greinke (with the Royals) and Marcum (as a Jay 3 years ago) would both look good in TO next year

Only 1 of them will most likely sign with the team

If the Jays were able to somehow come out of the off-season with someone like James Sheids and add Shaum Marcum as well, then suddenly you have a starting rotation of Morrow, Romero, Sheilds, Happ and Marcum, giving Alvarez some more time to work on a 3^rd pitch (his slider needs work and Triple A might be best for the 22 year old anyway to work on that next season) and as a reliable 1^st call up option if something were to happen to one of the starting 5. Given that in a typical season, each MLB team goes through about 7-10 starting pitchers due to injuries, trades and performance issues, adding 2 free agents to the roster would definitely bolster the depth of the pitching staff and give them. The probability of this happening, signing someone like Sheilds or Greinke, is highly unlikely however.

There is also another option for this team when it comes to adding to the pitching staff and that is by way of trade. It’s no secret that the Chicago Cubs are pretty much looking to blow up their roster and start over. One of their biggest trade chips to use is starting pitcher Matt Garza, another good arm who has experience in the challenging AL East from his time as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays. Given the way that some of the current Cubs have played, they could pretty much use help everywhere, particularly in the outfield. Here is my suggestion to Double A with regards to a possible trade with the Cubs;

To Chicago: Shortstop Yunel Escobar, 1B/DH/OF Adam Lind, OF Rajai Davis, OF Moises Sierra

To Toronto: Starting Pitcher Matt Garza, OF/2B Alfonso Soriano

 Garza pitched well this year for the sad sack Cubs and he has AL East Experience with the Rays

At first, when you look at this deal, two questions come to mind. #1 Why would the Cubs want Escobar and Lind, given that they have their long term answer at Short in Castro and Rizzo is their top hitter and plays 1B. #2. Why would the Blue Jays take on Soriano and his bloated contract? Well here is my rationale.

Basically, each of those 2 players (Lind and Escobar) are Major League talent upgrades over what the Cubs currently have on their roster. To improve a team with as little available young, up and coming talent in their farm system as the Cubs have, getting talent is important. So even if they end up being dealt elsewhere for prospects, it is a way of adding talent to your team overall. Plus, the keys to this deal for the Cubs are dumping Soriano’s contract (which expires in 2014 and still commands $18 million a year) and getting the multi-talented Sierra to patrol Right field for them. Davis could also be a cheap and effective Center field option for them for at least a couple of years but the keys would be Sierra and dropping the albatross of Soriano (who has seen the fans turn on him in his time as a Cub).

 Even with his big contract, he has produced with 30 HR's, and 104 RBI this season

For the Jays, there are several positive that would come from such a move. #1. Soriano solves your 2^nd Base issue. Yes, he has played in the outfield for the last few years but his primary position when he was a Yankee was 2^nd base. For all his deficiencies defensively, his offense would be a huge upgrade over Kelly (Strikeout) Johnson.  Further, adding a starter like Garza would be the same as signing Shaun Marcum or Shields and gives the Jays another top of the rotation starter. As well, by trading away Davis and Sierra, Double A would be clearing a logjam in Left field and creating a spot on the roster next year for Anthony Gose who has shown that he has all the tools to be a solid pro. Lastly, by dealing away underperforming players like Lind and Escobar (especially given the controversy Yunel has brought upon himself recently), you are sending a message to the rest of the team that you should always be giving your all and just because you are in the Majors does not mean that you can relax and stop trying to improve.

With the departures of Lind, Escobar, Davis and Sierra, there would be some defensive changes that would require addressing. This would of course impact the batting order as well so I will do both at once by demonstrating the new Blue Jays batting order for next season;

1.       Brett Lawrie – 3B

2.       Colby Rasmus – CF

3.       Jose Bautista – LF

4.       Edwin Encarnacion – 1B

5.       David Ortiz – DH

6.       Alfonso Soriano – 2B

7.       JP Arencibia – C

8.       Adeiny Hechavarria – SS

9.       Anthony Gose – RF

 He would look GREAT as a Jay

Starting Pitchers

1.       Brandon Morrow

2.       Matt Garza

3.       Ricky Romero

4.       JA Happ

5.       *Shaun Marcum

(Marcum is on the record as saying he would love to return to the team and he would be a great fit as the #4 or 5 starter. This also leaves Henderson Alvarez and Jesse Litsch at Triple A Buffalo next year as additional depth in case of injuries. Litsch needs the time to get back up to strength and Alvarez needs to work on his slider)

                Bullpen

1.       Closer – Sergio Santos

2.       Set-up – Casey Jannsen

3.       Set-up – Steve Delabar

4.       7^th inning – Brandon Lyon

5.       7^th inning – Jason Frasor

6.       Lefty – Darrin Oliver

7.       Lefty – Aaron Loop

8.       Long Man – Brad Lincoln

               

Bench Players

1.       Mike McCoy – INF/OF

2.       Jeff Mathis – C

3.       Yan Gomes – Super Utility (C/OF/1B)

 I know there was 1 name there that stood out in the batting order and for good reason, since I had not mentioned him as of yet until now. Signing David Ortiz as the new Blue Jay DH would be perfect for this team. His contract is up in Boston and with the new direction that team seems to want to go in, he would be the perfect fit in the #5 spot and protecting both Jose and Easy E in the lineup. He would also help this team mature with his leadership abilities and the fact that he would fit right in with the Latin American influence in the clubhouse. His calming yet commanding presence would be a welcome addition to the team, much like the way the 1992 team went out and signed Dave Winfield as the missing piece to the puzzle back then.

The top 7 in the Blue Jays order would now all have 20+ home run power and the potential to be one of the most feared lineups in the Major Leagues next season. I also flipped Bautista from Right to Left field to take advantage of the fact that Gose has more range and a better arm than Jose (not by much mind you) and to take some of the strain off of Jose with all the long throws he has had to make both to the plate and to 3^rd base from right. The team needs a healthy Jose and playing Left field, I believe, would be better for him.

 After a slow start, Adeiny has shown that he is ready for prime time

Having All of Famer Omar Vizquel there to help him learn the ropes hasn't hurt either

If you look at the defense now, with Hechevarria at Short and Soriano at 2^nd, it’s a new look and might give the Jays a bit of a weakness at 2^nd but many people believe that right now, Adeiny is already among the top defensive short stops in the game (back when he was in Triple A). He should be able to more than make up for any range issues Soriano may have as he re-adjusts back to being an everyday 2^nd baseman.

Obviously these changes will not come cheap as Ortiz will command about $15 million a year on a 2 year deal and acquiring Soriano and Garza will cost $44 million over 2 years for all 3 players. With the departures of Lind ($10 million over 2 option years), Escobar ($15 million, 3 years), Davis ($5.25 million option), and Kelly Johnson ($4 million), at least those departing contracts somewhat off-set those that would be coming in;

In:

Ortiz – 2 years, $30 million

Garza – 1 year at $8 million, 1 option year at $10

Soriano – 2 years, $36 million

Total - $84 million over 2 years

Out:

Lind – 2 option years, $10 million

Escobar – 3 years, $15 million

Davis – Arbitration Eligible, Made $5.25 million this year

Johnson - $4 million, free agent

Total - $34.25 million off the books

Overall, these moves represent a total investment in the team over 2 years of an additional $50 million ($40 million if they do not pick up the option on Garza) and given the fact that attendance has improved by 20% year over year and ratings have skyrocketed this year (or at least they had up until all the injuries started mounting), it is now time for Rogers to show the fans that they are behind the team as much as they are by putting their money where it counts most; into the team. Even Double A has come out and said as much about this coming off-season.

If you only add $20 million to the team’s overall payroll for next year and have THAT lineup on the field to start the season, I can almost guarantee that (if they can stay healthy) they will be right in the thick of things for a playoff position this time next year AND they will allow some younger players to slowly return from injuries. This added depth to the pitching staff would allow Jesse Litcsh, Kyle Drabek and Drew Hutchison some added time to recover without the pressure of thinking they need to rush. It would give both Litcsh and Henderson Alvarez time to refine their craft at Triple A while keeping the Major League team highly competitive and in a position to challenge for one of the 2 Wild Card spots.

One last thing that needs to be addressed. John Farrell's name has continued to be mentioned in connection with the Boston Red Sox since it became apparent that Bobby Valentine's days there were numbered. Where there is smoke, there is fire and just because he has gone on the record saying he is a Blue Jay (now), doesn't mean he isn't interested in becoming head honcho of the Red Sox for next season. Firstly, I would hold a private meeting with Farrell and see where his head is at. If he even remotely expresses interest in going over there, then I would immediately contact the Red Sox and see if they are seriously interested in him or not. If so, then you begin to negotiate with them in terms of trading Farrell over there. The last thing you want is the man in charge of your team to not actually want to be here. I would ask for Daniel Bard in any deal for Farrell, since he seems to be lost now with the Red Sox anyway.

This would obviously create a managerial vacancy with the team which could be filled very quickly with one man who should actually still be in the Big Leagues as a Manager right now anyway; Terry Francona. Two-time World Series winning managers don't grow on trees and he has the ability to help guide this team towards being a contender. As well, he woul help the team land "Big Papi".

 If Farrell wants to leave, Francona would be the ideal replacement

He played in Montreal and has nothing but good things to say about his experiences in Canada to this day. His players LOVED playing for him and, most importantly, he has handled big personalities and (particularly) Latin American Players in the past with honour and respect. He would be the perfect replacement.

After all these changes, I only have one question left for the team. Where is my consulting fee?