The problem with Major League Baseball is the players who can’t hold down a job in the major leagues. The “Quad-A” guys who bounce from Triple-A to the majors waiting for a big league opportunity but knowing they may never be good enough to seize that opportunity even if it comes. What do they do? Many of these Triple-A veterans love nothing more than the game of baseball and are willing to make sacrifices to keep their career going. But for players with families, how can the justify doing that? Their dream may be to the play in the big leagues, but if they could earn more money elsewhere, how could they not take it?

So far this offseason, ten players who saw time in the big leagues over the last two years have signed with professional teams in Japan and South Korea, and many baseball fans can recognize at least 7 or 8 of them: Andruw Jones, Brad Bergesen, Brooks Conrad, Casey McGehee, Kameron Mickolio, Aneury Rodriguez, Hector Luna, Lastings Milledge, Scott Richmond, and Adam Wilk. None of those players are anything more than backup or middle reliever types (though Jones was once an excellent player), and only Jones, Bergesen, and Conrad appeared in 50 major league games the last two years combined. However, they’re not that old- their average age was under 30 with over half the list 28 or younger (Rodriguez and Wilk both just turned 25), and all of them could reasonably expect to return to the big leagues in 2013. But in this day and age, that doesn’t matter as much. All these players would be looking at minor league contracts and everyone except maybe Jones would be facing minor league time for most of the year. They’d be making Triple-A money and just hoping that injuries open up a spot on the major league team’s roster for them. For most of these players, though, any opportunity they get would be for only a few games and then they would be sent back down. Everyone’s dream is to make the big leagues- but is it worth it when a Japanese team waves a multi-million dollar contract in your face?

Have we ever seen an exodus of recognizable players to the Far East like this before? Why is it happening? One factor has to be that the sentimental value of making the big leagues isn’t what it used to be. Players are more driven by money than the dream these days, and even if they’re not, that’s nothing enough money can’t change. For players who haven’t been able to establish themselves in the big leagues or have seen their careers trading off, deciding whether to stay in the US or go to Japan becomes crunching numbers. If you could make the same salary in the US or abroad then they would obviously choose to stay in the US, but if not, then they have to calculate of the salary they would earn plus the cost of moving their family and changing their lifestyle versus the possibility of future salaries in the US. When the numbers work out, more and more players are bolting for the Far East. The major leagues have no reason to be concerned- the most talented players are not going anywhere- but for the class of players who are no longer prospects and can’t establish themselves in the major leagues, an increasing number of players will consider heading abroad to find better salaries. For many players, making such a choice is something they could never bring themselves to do, but players have learned to evaluate all their options and realize that even if playing in the major leagues has always been their dream, sometimes they just have to do what’s best for them and their families and move on.

“To gain the respect of those guys and get their vote, that’s very special to me and very special to the Rays and it’s something that I cherish.”

Over at the Rays’ official site, Price’s teammate and friend James Shields had nothing but glowing things to say about Price’s work ethic that got him to the level that he pitched in 2012.

“A lot of people have really good years, but Price is the type of pitcher who is going to have good years for many years to come, just because of his work ethic,” Shields said. “He has this competitive nature to him. He wants to outwork everybody. He wants to pitch better than everybody and he’s shown that.”

“That’s one of the things that he does,” Shields said. “He wants to get better and better. I think there’s things that all good competitors have. And it’s kind of being a perfectionist. And it’s not always being satisfied with what he’s done. He always wants to get better at his craft, and he’s done that.”

As for next season? Price thinks he can be even better.

“I can’t wait for next year,” Price said. “The last three games [of the season] I kind of figured out some things with my off-speed. So next year I’ll be a different pitcher than I was this year. I feel like it will be for the best.”

It’s nice to see Price win this award, but all these awards are just icing on the cake for the Rays knowing that they have one of the best pitchers in all of baseball and a pitcher that will slot in right at the top of their rotation next season and give them everything he can to lead them back to the postseason. Congrats to Price and hopefully his best moments as a Tampa Bay Ray are still to come.

Baseball America released their Top 10 Rays Prospects for 2013, and their selections elicited some controversy. Here were BA’s top 10 Rays prospects:

1. Chris Archer
2. Taylor Guerrieri
3. Hak-Ju Lee
4. Alex Colome
5. Richie Shaffer
6. Enny Romero
7. Blake Snell
8. Tim Beckham
9. Derek Dietrich
10. Drew Vettleson

Archer over Guerrieri at number one was debatable but certainly defensible because Archer is big league-ready while Guerrieri is at least a couple years away from the big leagues, but the big shockers were Colome at #4, Romero at #6, Beckham at #8, and Dietrich at #9 with players such as Mikie Mahtook, Joshua Sale, and Felipe Rivero absent. Colome did definitely deserve to be in the top 10, but the others are more questionable. Romero is getting quite a bit of leeway for a fastball with great velocity and a curveball that only shows flashes when his control and command of both pitches along with his changeup are far away from where they need to be. Beckham still has some upside, but nearly as much as the Rays thought he had when they drafted him, and he still has never hit on a consistent basis. And Dietrich is very interesting because of his power but needs a ton of work on his patience. Sale, meanwhile, hit and got on base the way the Rays knew he could in 2012 although his season was marred by a 50-game meth suspension, while Mahtook was solid all-around in his first pro season and Rivero had flashed dominance and great stuff this season, although his overall numbers were marred by 6 poor relief appearances at the end of the season as he couldn’t adjust to a bullpen role. I won’t give my rankings now as we’re going to have a top prospects list here at RCG later this offseason, but my top 10 looks quite different that Baseball America’s. The overall vibe about the Rays system is that it may be the worst the Rays have had in quite a while- the Rays are the only team in baseball to not have a draft pick from the last five drafts make the major leagues- and the upper levels of the Rays’ system do not have the type of contributors coming that the Rays are used to. But there are players with very interesting upside especially at the lower levels of the system, headlined by players like Guerrieri, Snell, Vettleson, and Sale, and only time will tell whether this current group of Rays prospects will meet the high standard set by the past several years. Another factor is that the Rays may carry out a trade this offseason that bolsters their farm system and completely changes everyone’s perception of it.

And finally, as was rumored a few weeks ago, Brooks Conrad has signed with a Japanese team, the Hanshin Tigers (the rumors had him heading to the Yomiuri Giants). The team’s general manager praised Conrad for his versatility and switch-hitting. Happy trails to Conrads with the Tigers.

Gerry Hunsicker, the senior vice president of baseball operations for the Rays since the ownership group led by Sternberg purchased the team and former general manager of the Houston Astros, has left the Rays to become a senior advisor of baseball operations for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Hinsicker will advise Dodgers GM Ned Colletti on everything from the Dodgers’ big league team to the development of their international scouting facilities. Here’s what Rays executive vice president of baseball operations (and acting general manager) Andrew Friedman had to say on Hunsicker leaving:

“I have worked side by side with Gerry for the past seven years, and I am extremely grateful for all he has done for me and the Rays organization.  He has been instrumental in the growth and development of our department, and I am proud of the successes we have enjoyed together.  We will miss his contributions and presence, and we wish him well in his new role in Los Angeles.”